Nicolas Baudin

Nicolas-Thomas Baudin (February 17, 1754 - September 16, 1803) was a French explorer.

Baudin was born in Saint-Martin-de-Ré on the Ile de Ré. At the age of fifteen he joined the merchant navy, and at twenty joined the French East India Company. He then joined the French navy and served in the Caribbean during the American War of Independence. In 1785 Baudin was captain of the Caroline taking emigrants to New Orleans. After the war he captained ships transporting Austrian botanists to the Indian Ocean and the Pacific, and slaves from Mozambique. During this time Baudin learnt about botany and how to keep plants and animals alive on board ship.

In 1792 France declared war on Austria and Baudin tried unsuccessfully to rejoin the French navy. He returned to France in 1795 and visited Antoine de Jussieu at the Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle to suggest a botanical voyage to the Caribbean. This voyage was a success, and Baudin returned to France with a large collection of plants, birds and insects.

In October 1800 he was selected to lead an expedition to map the coast of Australia. He had two ships, Le Géographe and Le Naturaliste captained by Hamelin, and was accompanied by nine zoologists and botanists, including Jean Baptiste Leschenault de la Tour. He reached Australia in May 1801, and in April 1802 met Matthew Flinders, also engaged in charting the coastline, in Encounter Bay. Baudin then stopped at the British colony at Sydney for supplies. In Sydney he bought a new ship &mdash; Casuarina &mdash; named after the wood it was made from. From there he sent home Le Naturaliste, which had on board all of the specimens that had been discovered by Baudin and his crew. He then headed for Tasmania, before continuing north to Timor. Two of his ships named Jardinière, were lost in shipwrecks, one in the Pacific and the other in Port Louis harbour during a hurricane

Baudin then sailed for home, stopping at Mauritius, where he died of tuberculosis.

A number of monuments have been established around Australia, including eight at various locations around Western Australia.