Saturday, May 26, 2007

How Fleurieu Penunsula got its name.

For many years I was curious as to how the Fleurieu got its name. If you are interested I will tell you briefly.
It was named by Captain Nicolas Baudin in 1802, after the French Minister for the Navy, the Comte de Fleurieu. It was at this time that Baudin and Matthew Flinders met at what is now Encounter Bay near Victor Harbor. By the way if you like wine the Fleurieu is the place to come.

1 comment:

vsquared said...

It would make an interesting study as to why a few of Baudin's names have been retained, but mostly Flinder's or other later explorer's names superseded Baudin's.

And why the name of a French politician was considered worth retaining is a bit of a mystery.

Though it does have a nice ring to it - "Fleurieu", as in a place of flowers I guess.