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


Life and career

Francis Barrallier was born in
Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...
, France, on 19 October 1773, and baptised Louis Francois Barralier. 'sic''">sic.html" ;"title="'
'sic''François Barrallier was a president and his father a vice president of commissioners of different districts of the counter-French Revolution">revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...
royalist authorities of Toulon. He was the eldest son of Jean-Louis Barrallier, a marine engineer and monarchism in France">monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. C ...
, and Marie-Antoinette-Francoise Hernandez. The family fled to the United Kingdom in 1793 during the Siege of Toulon by the First French Republic, republicans. They lived for a time at Milford Haven, in Pembrokeshire, where Jean was employed designing the new port. Francis was trained by his father in engineering and surveying. Having acquired the patronage of the politician Charles Greville, Francis arrived in New South Wales in November 1799 with hopes of employment.Macqueen, Andy (2024), ''The Frenchman: Francis Barrallier life and journeys 1773-1853.'' Wentworth Falls, NSW: Andy Macqueen. At first he was given miscellaneous tasks including the design of a proposed orphanage at
Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...
. In July 1800 the outgoing Governor of NSW,
John Hunter John Hunter may refer to: Politics *John Hunter (British politician) (1724–1802), British Member of Parliament for Leominster * John Hunter (Canadian politician) (1909–1993), Canadian Liberal MP for Parkdale, 1949–1957 *Sir John Hunter ( ...
,  appointed him an ensign in the
New South Wales Corps The New South Wales Corps, later known as the 102d Regiment of Foot, and lastly as the 100th Regiment of Foot, was a formation of the British Army organised in 1789 in England to relieve the New South Wales Marine Corps, which had accompanied ...
. In March 1801 Governor Phillip Gidley King sent him with Lieutenant James Grant in to further explore, survey and map
Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria (Australia), Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The ...
. Barrallier's resulting maps of
Jervis Bay Jervis Bay () is a oceanic bay and village in the Jervis Bay Territory and on the South Coast (New South Wales), South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. A area of land around the southern headland of the bay, known as the Jervis Bay Terri ...
,
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 ...
and some of Bass Strait were recognised by Governor King, who made him the Colony's engineer and artillery officer. Again in the role of surveyor, in June 1801 he sailed 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 ...
in an expedition led by Colonel William Paterson. He 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, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
) and part of the Hunter and Williams Rivers. Later that year he made a second trip there with surveyor Charles Grimes, and with him surveyed part of the Paterson River. In October–November 1802 Governor King engaged Barrallier as his personal aide-de-camp, and in that capacity he was directed to try to find a way over the Blue Mountains to the west of Sydney. After a preliminary reconnaissance in September-October, he mounted a major expedition in November, employing a bullock cart to take provisions to a depot that he set up northwest of today's town of Picton. From there he made three incursions into the mountains, accompanied by soldiers, convicts and Aboriginal assistants. The first terminated prematurely in the
Burragorang Valley Burragorang or Burragorang Valley is a locality in the Macarthur Region of New South Wales, Australia, in Wollondilly Shire. It is home to Lake Burragorang, which is impounded by Warragamba Dam. It is partially encompassed by Blue Mountains Nat ...
when his principal guide, the
Dharawal The Tharawal people and other variants, are an Aboriginal Australian people, identified by the Yuin language. Traditionally, they lived as hunter–fisher–gatherers in family groups or clans with ties of kinship, scattered along the coasta ...
man Gogy, found himself unwelcome amongst the
Gundungurra The Gandangara people, also spelled Gundungara, Gandangarra, Gundungurra and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people in south-eastern New South Wales, Australia. Their traditional lands include present day Goulburn, Wollondilly Sh ...
people whose country they had entered. On the second incursion, with two different Aboriginal assistants, Badbury (Boodbury) and Le Tonsure, he penetrated further west but eventually turned around at Johnston Falls in Wheengee Whungee Creek, six kilometres southwest of Kanangra Walls. The party was short of supplies and low on morale and was far short of crossing the mountains. After a third unsuccessful incursion, which involved an attempt to follow the Wollondilly River upstream, Barrallier returned to Sydney. The expedition had taken 51 days altogether.   During the expedition Barrallier wrote letters to Governor King, and subsequently wrote a long journal, in French. These documents provide an important record of his encounters with the First Nations people he met or who accompanied him, and reveal that Barrallier had an uncommon understanding of their ownership of country. It is likely that his attitudes were influenced in part by his encounters with members of the French Baudin expedition, which visited Sydney in the months before the expedition. Barrallier made the first record of the
brush-tailed rock-wallaby The brush-tailed rock-wallaby or small-eared rock-wallaby (''Petrogale penicillata'') is a kind of wallaby, one of several rock-wallabies in the genus '' Petrogale''. It inhabits rock piles and cliff lines along the Great Dividing Range from ab ...
(''Petrogale penicillata''), which he encountered while trying to scale Tonalli Peak in the Burragorang Valley. He also displayed some knowledge of the science of geology. He also reported the traditional “coo-ee” call, though he was not the first to do so, as the call had been reported by Captain
John Hunter John Hunter may refer to: Politics *John Hunter (British politician) (1724–1802), British Member of Parliament for Leominster * John Hunter (Canadian politician) (1909–1993), Canadian Liberal MP for Parkdale, 1949–1957 *Sir John Hunter ( ...
in 1789, while on the
Hawkesbury River The Hawkesbury River, or Hawkesbury-Nepean River (Dharug language, Dharug: Dyarubbin) is a river located northwest of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The Hawkesbury River and its associated main tributary, the Nepean River, almost encircle ...
. In May 1803 Barrallier fell victim of the feuding between Governor King and the New South Wales Corps, and was dismissed as aide-de-camp. He submitted his resignation from the army and left for England. His resignation was never accepted, probably due to the support of Captain John Macarthur and Sir
Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English Natural history, naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the European and American voyages of scientific exploration, 1766 natural-history ...
. He undertook further training in the hope he would return to NSW as surveyor general, but was disappointed in that ambition. In 1805 he was appointed a lieutenant in the 90th Regiment and the following year joined the regiment at St Vincent in the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
, where he was engaged as engineer in charge of building fortifications.Great Britain (1821), ''Service Record of Francis Louis Barrallier.'' UK National Archives, WO25/750/122. In 1809 he earned a silver medal for his role in the capture of the island of
Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
from the French, and was made a captain in the 101st Regiment. He was then appointed aide-de-camp to General Sir George Beckwith, commander of the English forces in the West Indies, and in 1810 earned another silver medal for his role in the capture of
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...
. In 1812 Barrallier was instructed to make a survey of
Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...
, a task which occupied several years during which he was appointed surveyor general of the island. He returned to England in 1816 after the war with France concluded, and spent most of the rest of his life on half-pay, gradually advancing to Brevet Lieutenant Colonel. He lived mainly in England, but also in France, having married the English girl Isabel Skyrme in 1819. In 1827 he published his map of Barbados. This has proved to be significant in the campaign for restorative justice for the people of Barbados, a former slave colony, for it lists the names of all the English owners of the plantations of the time. Francis Barrallier died in London on 11 June 1853, aged nearly eighty.District of Stepney, death register. June 1853, vol 1c, p353.
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 Western Port, ( Boonwurrung: ''Warn Marin'') commonly but unofficially known ...
, a tiny islet that he would have visited  in Western Port, was named after him. Several places in the Blue Mountains also carry his name.


See also

* List of Blue Mountains articles


References

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