Shortly after the publication of this work, the publisher went into liquidation and “the unsold copies were burned. Surviving copies are of exceptional rarity” (Howgego).
In addition to the transport of two hundred French soldiers to Tahiti, Leconte was charged with completing hydrographical and scientific work en route. Commanding La Seine, he stopped at the French settlement at Akaroa, New Zealand, then in 1846 sailed to Tonga and New Caledonia where, off Port Balade on the north coast - and relying on one of Bruni D’Entrecasteaux’s charts - the ship was wrecked. Leconte and crew escaped without loss and were eventually rescued by an Australian ship, The Arabian, and brought to New South Wales, where they enjoyed the hospitality of Governor FitzRoy. A chapter is devoted to their month-long stay in Sydney, and there are considerable notes on Tahiti, Tonga and New Caledonia.
French attitude to their presence in the South Pacific was in a state of flux at the time of Leconte’s mission. Presumably following orders, he was decidedly unhelpful to the missionaries both in Tongatabu and in his insisting the French flag not be flown over the mission in New Caledonia.
Recently the French navy led a successful archaeological expedition to uncover the wreck of the La Seine. Of the artefacts discovered was a unique copper cauldron designed to use the heat of the ship’s stoves to purify seawater. This among other remains were displayed in a special exhibit in the New Caledonia Museum.
Not in Ferguson; Not in Hill; Howgego 2, L23; O’Reilly-Reitman 1097. See also Brookes, J.I., International Rivalry in the Pacific Islands 1800-75, Uni. California Press, 1941*.*
