At Port Jackson (Sydney), June-November 1802
On their arrival at Port Jackson, there were only four men on the Géographe who were capable of manoeuvring the ship, aided by English sailors who came aboard. The Naturaliste arrived eleven days later.
They were welcomed and assisted by Governor King, and the sick were able to get better. Both the savants and the officers noted in their journals the rapid prosperity of the colony, founded in 1788 by the British with convicts.
They stayed for five months. This stopover was during the Peace of Amiens, signed by France and England – a fragile and ephemeral peace that nonetheles soothed spirits.
They gathered a rich collection of specimens, particularly from Botany Bay north of Sydney. Peron and Lesueur filled thirty-three chests that were taken on board the Naturaliste when it left for France. It was then replaced by the corvette Casuarina, purchased at Port Jackson, the commander of which knew Louis Freycinet, an officer on the Naturaliste.