Louis Le Breton

France, b.1818, d.1866

Baie d'Akaroa

Tags: buildings (structures), flags, harbors, people (agents), ships

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Louis Le Breton was an artist accompanying the French explorer Dumont D’Urville’s voyages throughout the Pacific, North America and Antarctica between 1837 and 1840. D’Urville’s two ships, the Astrolabe and the Zélée, both seen here alongside a pair of whaling ships, visited Akaroa in April 1840 where they sought respite from the open ocean and replenishment of their supplies. It was a significant time for the region: a month later, at nearby Ōnuku, local rangatira (chiefs) Iwikau and Hone Tikao signed Te Tiriti o Waitangi / the Treaty of Waitangi, Aotearoa New Zealand’s founding document. This was followed by the arrival of French and German settlers on the ship Comte de Paris in August.

(Ship Nails and Tail Feathers, 10 June – 22 October 2023)

Exhibition History

George Henry The Black Hat (detail) 1904. Oil on canvas. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, presented by the Canterbury Society of Arts, 1932 Maker unknown Bilas, ceremonial headdress. Papua New Guinea. Bird heads, feathers, cordage and stick. Collection of Canterbury Museum 2005.84.1
Ship Nails and Tail Feathers: Historic Treasures from the Collections of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū and Canterbury Museum
Emily Harper Christchurch from near the Gloucester Street Bridge 1857. Watercolour. Collection of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, gift of the Acland family 2016
Pickaxes and Shovels
Image: uploads/2024_07/2017_084.jpg
other labels about this work

  • Pickaxes and shovels, 17 February – 5 August 2018

    This fine lithograph is the earliest known Pākehā image of anywhere in the Waitaha / Canterbury region. Louis Le Breton was the artist on Durmont D’Urville’s voyages of exploration throughout the Pacific, North America and Antarctica between 1837 and 1840. D’Urville’s two ships, the Astrolabe and the Zélée, both seen here alongside two whaling ships, visited Akaroa in April 1840 when Le Breton made a study for this lithograph. It was a significant time for the region: a month later, at nearby Ōnuku, local rangatira (chiefs) Iwikau and Hone Tikao signed the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s founding document, followed by the arrival of French and German settlers on the ship Comte de Paris in August.