Francis Louis Barrallier (19 October 1773 – 11 June 1853) was a French-born explorer of Australia.

Life and career

Francis Barrallier was the eldest son of Jean-Louis Barrallier, a French marine engineer and Royalist supporter who escaped to the United Kingdom in 1793 during the

Siege of Toulon The siege of Toulon (29 August – 19 December 1793) was a military engagement that took place during the Federalist revolts of the French Revolutionary Wars. It was undertaken by Republican forces against Royalist rebels supported by Anglo-S ...

by the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

s. Francis arrived in Australia in April 1800 and in July 1800 the Governor of New South Wales,

Philip Gidley King Captain Philip Gidley King (23 April 1758 – 3 September 1808) was a British politician who was the third Governor of New South Wales. When the First Fleet arrived in January 1788, King was detailed to colonise Norfolk Island for defence ...

, appointed him as an ensign in the

New South Wales Corps The New South Wales Corps (sometimes called The Rum Corps) was formed in England in 1789 as a permanent regiment of the British Army to relieve the New South Wales Marine Corps, who had accompanied the First Fleet to Australia, in fortifying th ...

. He was made engineer and artillery officer in August 1801. His first assignment was to design the

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

orphan asylum building. In March 1801 he sailed with Lieutenant James Grant in to further explore Bass Strait, and was responsible for the charting of Western Port and other parts of the coast. Barrallier's work on the maps of

Jervis Bay Jervis Bay () is a oceanic bay and village on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia, said to possess the whitest sand in the world. A area of land around the southern headland of the bay is a territory of the Commonwealth of Australia ...

Western Port Western Port, ( Boonwurrung: ''Warn Marin'') commonly but unofficially known as Western Port Bay, is a large tidal bay in southern Victoria, Australia, opening into Bass Strait. It is the second largest bay in the state. Geographically, it is ...

and some of Bass Strait were recognised by Governor

, who made him engineer and artillery officer in the Corps. In June a voyage with Grant was made to the

Hunter River Hunter River may refer to: *Hunter River (New South Wales), Australia *Hunter River (Western Australia) *Hunter River, New Zealand *Hunter River (Prince Edward Island), Canada **Hunter River, Prince Edward Island, community on Hunter River, Canada ...

, where Barrallier made a survey of Coal Harbour (now

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

) and part of the river. In October–November 1802 he was directed by Governor King to try to find a way over Blue Mountains to the west of Sydney. He travelled about 140 miles in seven weeks, but had to turn back – at one stage due to unfriendly Aborigines, and later due to a lack of supplies. He did not succeed in crossing the range. His finishing point was "''towards the head of Christy's Creek, about 15 or 16 miles in a direct line southerly from

Jenolan Caves The Jenolan Caves ( Tharawal: ''Binoomea'', ''Bindo'', ''Binda'') are limestone caves located within the Jenolan Karst Conservation Reserve in the Central Tablelands region, west of the Blue Mountains, in Jenolan, Oberon Council, New South Wa ...

''". In 1802, he was reputedly the first colonist to hear—at least mention hearing—the local Aboriginal people using the ' coo-ee' call, which was later also adopted by colonial settlers. In the May 1803 he resigned from the New South Wales Corps and left for England. Other examples of his work in Sydney included the design of the fort on Observatory Hill (used as a signal station in the 1850s) and plans for the first vessel built in Sydney. In 1805 he was appointed a lieutenant in the 90th Regiment. In 1806 he was at St Vincent, and in 1809 was present at the capture of the island of

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in ...

. He was made a captain in 1812. He spent some years making a military survey of the island of

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

, was present at the capture of Guadeloupe in 1814, and was appointed surveyor-general of the island. Barrallier returned to England in 1819. He died in London on 11 June 1853.

Barrallier Island Barrallier Island is a very small uninhabited island located northwest of French Island in Victoria, Australia. The island is shown on the chart of Western Port based on the 1801 survey by James Grant in . The island is named after Francis Ba ...

in Western Port, Mount Barrallier in the Kanangra area of New South Wales, and the historical locality of Barrallier, New South Wales are named after him.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barrallier, Francis 1773 births 1853 deaths Explorers of Australia People from the Blue Mountains (New South Wales)

Life and career

See also

References