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By tk *Mount Pleasant planners aim to protect marsh islands *Hunting Island beach continues erosion battle *Georgia politician backs Jasper port *Lifesaving group renews Santa Rosa Island criticism
*Builders plant grassbeds in bay restoration effort *Junior Lifeguard Program Begins *State to buy Tate's Hell land
Antoine Raymond Joseph de Bruni D'Entrecasteaux. As a Midshipman in La Minerve, he saw action resulting in the Balearic Islands going to Spain, and he was promoted to Ensign in 1757. By 1785 he had risen sufficiently in the navy to command a Squadron in the East Indies, and opened a route to Canton via Sunda Straits and the Moluccas, now he became the Governor of the Island of Mauritius sitting in the Indian Ocean. In September of 1791, D'Entrecasteaux was ordered to mount an expedition to go and search for La Perouse, his two ships and their crews, we have already noted went missing in 1788. Promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral, D'Entrecasteaux was given a 500 ton frigate, La Recherche, with d'Hesmity-d'Auribeau as his second in command, plus a second vessel, L'Esperance commanded by Huon de Kermadec, and a distinguished hydrographer C.F. Beautemps-Beaupre was added to the group. The two ships cleared Brest on the 8th. of September 1791, with orders to proceed to Australia, making a landfall at Cape Leeuwin on its south west corner, then to follow the southern coastline to make for Van Dieman's Land ( Tasmania ) thence to sail to the Friendly Islands ( Tonga ) via the north of New Zealand. It was considered that La Perouse had intended to explore New Caledonia and the Louisiades, pass through the Torres Strait to explore the Gulf of Carpentaria and the north coast of Australia. When the expedition reached Table Bay at Cape Town on the 17th. of January 1792 he was informed that Captain John Hunter had recently seen off the Admiralty Islands some native people in their canoes wearing French uniforms and belts. Although Hunter later denied this report, D'Entrecasteaux was determined to make for the Admiralty Islands area, but firstly he would replenish his water supplies, and rest his crews at Van Diemans Land, and on the 20th. of April 1792 he had land in sight, three days later the two ships anchored in a harbour he named Recherche Bay after his own ship. The Admiral was very impressed with this Bay, I quote him from his ship's log:
The five week sojourn in this southern Eden gave the botanists a chance to harvest 5,000 plants, with at least 100 new species which included the first blue gum eucalyptus. The expedition gardener, Felix Delahaye laid out the first European vegetable garden in Tasmania, he later went on to become head gardener for Empress Josephine at Malmaison. In the ship's company was a steward known as Louis Girargin, who was a 38 year old female pretending to be a male, she was Marie Louise Victoire Girgarin, it is understood that both D'Entrecasteaux and his second in command were well aware of her disception, but closed a blind eye to it. It was thought she was actually the daughter of the head gardener at The Royal Court of Versailles, but giving birth to an illegitimate child had forced her to leave France. Marie Louise had a special cabin and was allowed to keep much to herself, keen to protect her masculine disguise, she had challenged a male crew member to a swordfight, and thereby suffered a gash to an arm. It is thought she was the first European woman to fight a duel on Australian soil, and was the first white woman in Tasmania, 12 years ahead of any settlement in Hobart Town.
Travel Diary Kamakura. Saturday the 1st. of September 1945. A visit to the Great Buddha of Kamakura. I had already been off my ship HMAS Shropshire several times before the signing of the surrender, which was due to take place aboard USS Missouri tomorrow morning. Today I was able to get ashore to Yokahama the nearest city to our anchorage, now in 2003 is it a thriving city of some 3 Million people, and is the second largest city in Japan. But right now it is a place of rubble, having been bombed on many occasions, and Yokahama is full of rusty safes on all the open spaces, opened and empty of whatever contents they may once have contained. I am off to visit the nearby town of Kamakura to see the huge bronze statue known as the Great Buddha of Kamakura. Today,Tokyo to Kamakura is about an hour by train, and Yokahama sits about half way between the two areas. There are no trains running on this first day of September in 1945, and I acquire a bicycle in Yokahama, and pedal my way south where the Buddha lives. This statue was cast in bronze in the year 1252, it is huge, 35 feet high, weighing in about 93 tons, initially it was housed within a large temple building, but that was destroyed by a tidal wave in 1495, and ever since the statue has stood alone in the open air. In 1960, the last repairs were completed, these strengthened the neck of the Buddha, and made it possible for the body to move on its base to prevent damage in the event of shock from an earthquake. You could enter into the body of this large statue based on the Buddha Amitaba, Lord of the Pure White Sand, standing inside the base of this statue gave me the feeling of both immense space and peace, there was a serenity about the whole atmosphere, quite suprising. I enjoyed my visit, biked back to Yokahama, and returned to my ship.
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