Case W2
- European Voyages to Pacific after Cook 2
Peter Dillon. Narrative and Successful Result of a Voyage in the South Seas … to Ascertain the Actual Fate of La Perouse's Expedition … Vol. I. London: Hurst, Chance, 1829.
The purpose of the South Seas voyage led by Peter Dillon (1785-1847) was to ascertain the fate of the lost expedition of Jean-François de Galaup, comte de La Pérouse (1741-1788).
Commissioned by the British government in India, Dillon discovered the wreckage of the two lost French frigates in 1827 at Vanikoro (one of the Santa Cruz Islands and today forming part of the Solomon Islands) solving what had been a mystery since 1788.
Dillon visited the Bay of Islands twice in 1827, and his Narrative includes a detailed account of Kororāreka and local customs. The displayed book is the first of two volumes.
Peter Dillon. Narrative and Successful Result of a Voyage in the South Seas … to Ascertain the Actual Fate of La Perouse's Expedition … Vol. I. London: Hurst, Chance, 1829.
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George Vancouver. A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and Round the World ... Vol. I. London: Printed for John Stockdale, 1801.
In 1790-95, George Vancouver (1757-1798) led a British expedition which explored and charted North America’s north-western Pacific Coast region, including the coasts of what are now Alaska, Washington, Oregon and British Columbia. Following the mutiny on the Bounty, the Admiralty ruled that ships must not make long journeys alone; therefore, the armed tender HMS Chatham was assigned to the expedition alongside HMS Discovery.
Vancouver also explored the South Pacific, where the sub-Antarctic Snares Islands were so named as they appeared a shipping hazard. The Chatham Islands were named by William Broughton, captain of HMS Chatham, after the First Lord of the Admiralty.
The displayed book is the first volume of six, open at Vancouver’s description of the expedition’s arrival in Dusky Bay in 1791. He mentions his previous visit to the spot, on board the Resolution during Cook’s second voyage in 1773, when Vancouver was a 15-year-old midshipman.
George Vancouver. A Voyage of Discovery to the North Pacific Ocean, and Round the World ... Vol. I. London: Printed for John Stockdale, 1801.
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