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Story: Otago region

Ships in Otago Harbour, 1840

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Ships in Otago Harbour, 1840
Louis Le Breton visited New Zealand on French explorer Dumont D’Urville’s last voyage to the country and spent four days with the expedition in Otago Harbour. He made a drawing (on which this lithograph, ‘Mouillage d’Otago’, is based) of the ships at anchor, probably near Ōtākou . A sailor is washing clothes in the foreground, the buildings of the and a moored canoe are in the middle distance, and the expedition vessels are in the background.

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Hocken Collections, University of Otago, Godward Bequest

by Louis Le Breton

Permission of the Hocken Library Uare Taoka o Hakena, University of Otago, must be obtained before any re-use of this image. Further information may be obtained from the Library through its website.

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How to cite this page

Malcolm McKinnon, Otago region – Overview, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/22607/ships-in-otago-harbour-1840 (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Malcolm McKinnon, published 18 August 2009, updated 1 May 2015.