Esperance Bay (Esperance Bay)
Esperance Bay is a bay on the south coast of Western Australia. Nominally located at -33.85694°N, 121.92028°W, it is the site of the town of Esperance.
The bay was discovered on 9 December 1792 by a French expedition under Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, which sailed in search of the lost expedition of Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse. Stormy weather had blown the ships into hazardous waters surrounded by islands, but acting ensign Jacques-Bertrand Le Grand sighted a navigable passage and a somewhat sheltered anchorage, providing what d'Entrecasteaux regarded as a "miraculous" escape from being wrecked. Ship botanist Jacques Labillardière was in favour of naming the bay after Le Grand, and indeed he refers to the bay on his specimen slips as "Baie Le Grand", but in the end d'Entrecasteaux decided to name the bay after one of his ships, the Espérance. The cape on the eastern side of the bay was named Cape Le Grand in Le Grand's honour.
The bay was discovered on 9 December 1792 by a French expedition under Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, which sailed in search of the lost expedition of Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse. Stormy weather had blown the ships into hazardous waters surrounded by islands, but acting ensign Jacques-Bertrand Le Grand sighted a navigable passage and a somewhat sheltered anchorage, providing what d'Entrecasteaux regarded as a "miraculous" escape from being wrecked. Ship botanist Jacques Labillardière was in favour of naming the bay after Le Grand, and indeed he refers to the bay on his specimen slips as "Baie Le Grand", but in the end d'Entrecasteaux decided to name the bay after one of his ships, the Espérance. The cape on the eastern side of the bay was named Cape Le Grand in Le Grand's honour.
Map - Esperance Bay (Esperance Bay)
Map
Country - Australia
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The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south east Asia approximately 65,000 years ago, during the last ice age. Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world. Australia's written history commenced with the European maritime exploration of Australia. The Dutch navigator Willem Janszoon was the first known European to reach Australia, in 1606. In 1770, the British explorer James Cook mapped and claimed the east coast of Australia for Great Britain, and the First Fleet of British ships arrived at Sydney in 1788 to establish the penal colony of New South Wales. The European population grew in subsequent decades, and by the end of the 1850s gold rush, most of the continent had been explored by European settlers and an additional five self-governing British colonies established. Democratic parliaments were gradually established through the 19th century, culminating with a vote for the federation of the six colonies and foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia on 1 January 1901. Australia has since maintained a stable liberal democratic political system and wealthy market economy.
Currency / Language
ISO | Currency | Symbol | Significant figures |
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AUD | Australian dollar | $ | 2 |
ISO | Language |
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EN | English language |