THE MIEGUNYAH PRESS
An imprint of Melbourne University Publishing Ltd
187 Grattan Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia
mup-info@unimelb.edu.au
www.mup.com.au
First published 2006
Text 2006 Edward Duyker
Design and typography 2006 Melbourne University Publishing Ltd
This book is copyright. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 and subsequent amendments, no part may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted by any means or process whatsoever without the prior written permission of the publishers.
Edited by Cathryn Game
Text and cover design by Sandra Nobes
Maps by Susan Duyker
Printed by Australian Book Connection
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry
Duyker, Edward, 1955.
Franois Pron : an impetuous life : naturalist and voyager.
Bibliography.
Includes index.
ISBN 978 0522 85260 8.
ISBN 0 522 85260 2.
1. Pron, Franois, 17751810. 2. Pron, Franois, 17751810 Voyage de dcouvertes aux terres australes. 3. NaturalistsFranceBiography. 4. TravellersFranceBiography. 5. AustraliaDiscovery and explorationFrench. I. Title.
919.4042
This project has been assisted by the Commonwealth Government through the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body.
Pour
la famille Debard
Crilly
avec mes remerciementsAcknowledgements
T HIS book would have been impossible without the decades of meticulous scholarship undertaken by Jacqueline Bonnemains while she was Curator of the Lesueur Collection at the Musum dhistoire naturelle in Le Havre. Jacqueline Bonnemains shared her knowledge and publications with extraordinary generosity and went to great lengths to facilitate my research when I visited Le Havre in November 2002 and March 2003. Each time I left the museum I was heavily laden with photocopies and notes, and my stomach was filled with a sumptuous Norman repast. I will never forget her help and kindness. Since Jacquelines retirement, I have been ably assisted by her gracious young successor, Gabrielle Baglione, who has answered many reference questions with patience and diligence. I am also very grateful to Prof. Michel Jangoux, Laboratoire de Biologie Marine, Universit Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium, for the many painstaking transcriptions he made in Le Havre and other archives, and for copies of his articlesin some cases even before they were published. In the category of crucial contributions, I must also acknowledge Christine Cornell Cooper for permission to quote from her elegant translations of Nicolas Baudins journal and volume ii of Prons Voyage. As co-translator of Bruny dEntrecasteauxs journal, I know what enormous labours she has spared me!
In Franois Prons birthplace, Crilly (Allier), I owe a great debt to Dr Franoise Debard. She not only shared the fruits of her veterinary thesis dealing with the naturalists work on seals but also gave me copies of many other useful articles and documents, guided me around the town and its environs, and introduced me to several erudite local historians, librarians and archivists. Our paths had already crossed in Sydney and would cross again in Mauritiuswhere she yet again assisted me with archival research. Furthermore, Franoises charming parents, Dr Henri and Josette Debard, generously accommodated my whole family during our stay in Crilly. I will never forget the warmth of their welcome and the fact that during two visits to Prons ville natale they gave me the use of their own bed. In Crilly, I was also assisted by the parish priest Pre Michel Joussain; the mayor Olivier Filliat (who gave me access to the municipal archives in the town hall attic); the former mayor Daniel Gulon (who shared his notes and transcriptions); Alain Ptiniot, President of the Association Franois Pron; and historian Jacques Perchat. At times I felt that I was living in a play in which the actors comprised half the town, and everyone knew the script except me; nevertheless, I soon learned to improvise! In neighbouring Moulins and Yzeure, I thank Claude and Monique Blanchet; Bernard Trapes, Bibliothque de la Socit dEmulation du Bourbonnais; Agns Leca, Bibliothque municipale, for a great deal of bibliographic precision; Jacques Desforges, Service des Archives, Evch de Moulins, and Denis Tronchard, Directeur, Archives dpartementales de lAllier, who facilitated my discovery of a treasure trove of notarial documents relating to the Pron family.
In Paris, where I undertook research for several months, I wish to thank Simone Brunau, Directeur, Cit internationale des Arts; Dr Jacqueline Goy, Institut ocanographique; Martine Marin, Les Amis de Nicolas Baudin; Hlne Deleuze and Vronique Royet, Bibliothque nationale; Caroline Picketty, Archives nationales; the marvellous Bernadette Molitor, Librarian, Bibliothque de lHistoire de la Mdecine; Sandrine Aufray, Services dArchives de Paris; Marie-Vronique Clin, Muse dhistoire de la Mdecine; Frdric Lions, Bibliothque historique de la Ville de Paris; Dr Bernard Mtivier, Matre de Confrences, Dpartement Milieux et Peuplements Aquatiques, Musum national dhistoire naturelle; Rodolphe Leroy and Pascale Heurtel, Bibliothque centrale du Musum national dhistoire naturelle; Bernard Chevalier, Directeur, Muse national des chteaux de Malmaison et Bois-Prau; Michle Pierron, Bibliothque du Muse de lArme; Marie-Hlne Joly, Librarian, Muse national de la Marine; Adrien Mattatia, Muse de lHomme; Lieutenant-Colonel Bodinier, Herv Deborre, Bernard Hamade, Service historique de lArme de Terre, Vincennes; and Magali Lacousse, Service historique de la Marine, Vincennes. Beyond Paris, I thank the late Dr Louis Dulieu, Facult de Mdecine, Montpellier; Nicole Beziaud, Archives municipales, La Rochelle; Sylvie Barot, Archives municipales du Havre; Armelle Sentilhles, Archives dpartementales de la Seine-Maritime, Rouen; Dr Sylvain Chimello and Dominique Laglasse, Bibliothque municipale de Thionvillle; and Jean-Claude Lumet, Centre Gnalogique du Sud-Ouest; Dr Maurice Recq, Landerneau; and Alain Serieyx, Draguignan.
