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Anchor from the 'St Jean Baptiste'

Image Anchor from the 'St Jean Baptiste'

TLF ID R2034

This is a large anchor, made of wrought iron in about 1760. It is 4.45 metres long, 2.87 metres wide and 68 centimetres thick, and weighs 1400 kilograms. It is one of three anchors lost at Doubtless Bay in the north of the North Island of New Zealand on 27 December 1769 from the 'St Jean Baptiste', a ship captained by Jean de Surville, a French merchant and explorer.

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Educational details

Educational value
  • This asset is an example of an artefact from an important ship in the French exploration of the Pacific - the 'St Jean Baptiste', a 650-ton (about 660 tonnes) merchant ship equipped with 36 guns and capable of carrying a crew of 172, was built in Nantes in France in 1767 to trade between France and India.
  • It is evidence that Jean de Surville visited New Zealand during his voyage of exploration - intrigued by rumours in India of a rich island in the Pacific area, de Surville set out from Bengal in March 1769 to find the island and explore its commercial possibilities; he sighted the coast of New Zealand on 12 December 1769 and anchored in a bay that he named 'La Baie de Lauriston' (now Doubtless Bay) on 17 December 1769.
  • It is evidence that the 'St Jean Baptiste' met bad weather while at La Baie de Lauriston - during a fierce storm on 27 December 1769 the anchors were unable to hold the ship and so were cut, in a desperate bid to manoeuvre the ship away from rocks and into a sheltered cove.
  • It is evidence that the 'St Jean Baptiste' was in the same area as the 'Endeavour', captained by James Cook, in December 1769 - Cook is known to have visited and named Doubtless Bay six days before de Surville and their ships are estimated to have missed each other at sea by as little as 48 kilometres.
  • It is an example of an artefact that has been recovered from the sea bed and put on display - Kelly Tarlton, a well-known New Zealand undersea explorer, recovered two of the three anchors in 1974 and gave them to museums.
  • It indicates that wrought iron is a long-lasting material - this anchor lay in salt water for 205 years.
Topics Mime Iron

Other details

Contributors
  • Contributor
  • Name: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
  • Organization: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
  • Description: Content provider
  • URL: http://www.tepapa.govt.nz
  • Name: Education Services Australia
  • Organization: Education Services Australia
  • Description: Data manager
  • Copyright Holder
  • Name: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
  • Organization: Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
  • Publisher
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organization: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Description: Publisher
  • Address: VIC, AUSTRALIA
  • URL: http://www.esa.edu.au
  • Resource metadata contributed by
  • Name: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Organisation: Education Services Australia Ltd
  • Address: AUSTRALIA
  • URL: www.esa.edu.au
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  • Image
Rights
  • © Education Services Australia Ltd and Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2013, except where indicated under Acknowledgements