1842: Fiery Death of Jules Dumont d’Urville
May 8, 2019
By AHNZ
8 May, 1842 (177 year anniversary): The Death of one of New Zealand’s greatest explorers, Jules Dumont d’Urville in Versaille, France.
Captain d’Urville visited New Zealand not once but three times, charting much of it and leaving behind names that stand to this day.
D’Urville Sea (Antarctica)
D’Urville Island (Antarctica)
Mount D’Urville (Auckland Island)
D’Urville Island (Marlborough Sounds)
D’Urville Rocks (Auckland)
On his first trip the ship was over-run with prostitutes. On his last trip, 1840, he drank Busby’s New Zealand-made wine and enjoyed it very much.
At the age of 52, Rear Admiral d’Urville died with his wife and many others in a horrible train accident.
Having derailed, the train piled up and spilled coal into the engine leading to an inferno. In a weird, controlling, custom the French at this time insisted on the practise of locking passengers into their carriages like little jail cells. If the impact or the fire had not killed the d’Urvilles then perhaps the prevention of rescue for want of access finished them off; They all deserved better!
I took a look around on Google Street View of the scene today but cannot see any memorial marking the tragic event.
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Image ref. A. Provost; Wiki
image ref. Jérôme Cartellier – Château de Versailles; Wiki
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