This event follows a series proposed by the Alliance Francaise Nelson Tasman and started from a Tuku 21 event on the French history around the Top of the South.

This year, Michael Lee (author of Navigateurs et Naturalistes – French Exploration of NZ and the South Seas) will give a conference about Jules Dumont D’Urville and his scientific and exploratory voyages in the Pacific.

The evening, facilitated by France Aotearoa Science, Technology and Innovation (FAST!) will enable the public to learn more about the history and discoveries of the French scientific explorer and his three visits between 1824 and 1840.

On the Astrolabe, he sailed with his officer and crew from Tasman Bay through the narrow French Pass into Admiralty Bay in the Marlborough Sounds and discovered the now-known D’Urville Island/Rangitoto ki te Tonga.