The Baudin scientific expedition was commissioned by Bonaparte, then First Consul, to explore the Southern Hemisphere and visit New Holland. It left Le Havre on 19 October 1800 under the leadership of Nicolas Baudin in charge of the Géographe, and Emmanuel Hamelin, captain of the Naturaliste. Baudin died on the return journey in the Ile de France (Mauritius) and the Géographe, captained now by Pierre Milius, arrived at the French port of Lorient on 24 March 1804, the Naturaliste having arrived at Le Havre on 7 June 1803. An additional ship, the Casuarina, was purchased in Port Jackson and disposed of in the Ile de France.
