Story: Early mapping

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.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: MapColl-832.11aj/1827/Acc.32474

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Melanie Lovell-Smith, 'Early mapping - French charts before 1840', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/zoomify/10778/dumont-durvilles-charts (accessed 1 May 2024)

Story by Melanie Lovell-Smith, published 24 Sep 2007