Dumont d’Urville’s charts

Dumont d’Urville’s charts

These two charts, of Tolaga Bay (top) and Bream Bay, were made by Dumont D’Urville during his 1827 voyage in the Astrolabe. Both have coastal profiles of the bays. Such profiles were an important part of coastal mapping as they showed sailors how the land would appear from the deck of a ship, helping them to find entrances to harbours. The lower chart shows the distinctive style Dumont d’Urville used to portray the topography of the land.