De Rays Expedition
Encyclopedia
Marquis de Rays
Charles Marie Bonaventure du Breil, Marquis de Rays was a French nobleman who had ambitions of starting a great French colony in the South Pacific...
, a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
nobleman who attempted to start a colony in the South Pacific
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
. The expedition attempted to establish a colony in a place the marquis called La Nouvelle France, or New France, which was the island now referred to as New Ireland
New Ireland (island)
New Ireland is a large island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 7,404 km² in area. It is the largest island of the New Ireland Province, lying northeast of the island of New Britain. Both islands are part of the Bismarck Archipelago, named after Otto von Bismarck, and they are separated by...
in the Bismark Archipelago of present day Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. Three hundred and forty Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
colonists aboard the ship India set sail from Barcelona in 1880 for this new land, seeking relief from the poor conditions in Italy at that time. One hundred and twenty-three colonists died before being rescued by Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n authorities. The marquis is widely believed to have deliberately misled the colonists, distributing literature claiming a bustling settlement existed at Port Breton, near present day Kavieng
Kavieng
Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2000, it had a population of 10,600....
, which had numerous public buildings, wide roads, and rich, arable land
Arable land
In geography and agriculture, arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops , temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow...
.
The Paradise of New France
French Riviera
The Côte d'Azur, pronounced , often known in English as the French Riviera , is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the sovereign state of Monaco...
. There were also reports of great wide roads and arable
Arable land
In geography and agriculture, arable land is land that can be used for growing crops. It includes all land under temporary crops , temporary meadows for mowing or pasture, land under market and kitchen gardens and land temporarily fallow...
farmland.
Three hundred and forty colonists from Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
joined the expedition, and each paid the marquis 1,800 francs in gold or were allowed the option to offer their services in labour for five years. For this trade they were offered twenty hectares of land and a four-room house, as well as transport to the new colony and rations amounting to six months for those who paid in gold, and five years for those who offered their labour. The marquis received over seven million francs for his four ill-fated expeditions.
The governments of both France and Italy claimed the expedition was a scam, and announced they would not allow the voyage to take place, citing the safety of the Italians. The Royal Investigation Bureau in Milan went as far as to order a directive that no Italian involved in the expedition would be issued a passport for travel. Many colonists did not believe the authorities, and De Rays organised the voyage to depart from Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, to avoid confrontation with the French and Italian authorities.
The voyage
Fifty families were sent to Barcelona and boarded the India bound for Port Breton.The voyage to New France aboard the India left on 9 July 1880. The journey to New Ireland
New Ireland (island)
New Ireland is a large island in Papua New Guinea, approximately 7,404 km² in area. It is the largest island of the New Ireland Province, lying northeast of the island of New Britain. Both islands are part of the Bismarck Archipelago, named after Otto von Bismarck, and they are separated by...
took more than three months, and colonists were forced to live on board in appalling, cramped conditions. Disease and tension were rife on the ship, and ventilation and rations were in short supply, causing deaths in transit. The ship, and more than three hundred colonists, made landfall on 14 October 1880.
Settlement in Port Breton
Upon arriving in Port Breton, the colonists discovered there was no town, settlement, or empire of New France. Housing had not been built for them as promised, but they were able to salvage from the now derelict India and the remains of the two previous expeditions some three weeks supplies, bricks, notebooks and the makings of a mill. The mill was never used, and parts of the grindstone can still be found at KaviengKavieng
Kavieng is the capital of the Papua New Guinean province of New Ireland and the largest town on the island of the same name. The town is located at Balgai Bay, on the northern tip of the island. As of 2000, it had a population of 10,600....
, But the stone itself is mounted as a memorial in Rabaul
Rabaul
Rabaul is a township in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. The town was the provincial capital and most important settlement in the province until it was destroyed in 1994 by falling ash of a volcanic eruption. During the eruption, ash was sent thousands of metres into the air and the...
.
Located at the feet of the Verron Range
Verron Range
The Verron Range is a mountain range in the southern part of New Ireland, Papua New Guinea, composed of limestone and volcanic rock. The highest point of the mountains is at 2150 m. Together with the Hans Meyer Range and the Lelet Plateau, it is one of the main mountainous features of New Ireland...
, that area of New Ireland is mostly dense tropical rainforest
Tropical rainforest
A tropical rainforest is an ecosystem type that occurs roughly within the latitudes 28 degrees north or south of the equator . This ecosystem experiences high average temperatures and a significant amount of rainfall...
and the settlers were unable to carve out the farmland they had been promised. Many started to fall sick after their weakening journey on the India and were unable to ward off new tropical diseases such as malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
. Starvation was also a major concern, and there were also some reports of clashes with the indigenous population. About a hundred settlers died in Port Breton from disease and malnutrition.
After two months, a smaller previous expedition ship, the Genil, was sent out in desperation from the failed colony to find food and supplies. Settlers waited two more months for its return before casting off on the India to try to find a nearby colony that could house the starving refugees. There were now just over two hundred and thirty settlers remaining. In a strange twist of events, the Genil arrived back at the port on the same day the India left, but the two ships did not sight each other.
The voyage to Nouméa
Settlers reportedly instructed the captain of the India to set sail for SydneySydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, but instead, the ship was sailed to Nouméa
Nouméa
Nouméa is the capital city of the French territory of New Caledonia. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, and is home to the majority of the island's European, Polynesian , Indonesian, and Vietnamese populations, as well as many Melanesians,...
in the French colony of New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
, which was at that time a penal colony
Penal colony
A penal colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general populace by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory...
. The settlers hoped to continue to Sydney, but the French authorities declared the India unseaworthy and refused to allow it to leave port. Due to an apparent dislike of the French, and a desire to not reside in a penal colony, the Italians appealed to the British consul for aid. Sir Henry Parkes, the colonial secretary
Chief Secretary
The Chief Secretary is the title of a senior civil servant in members of the Commonwealth of Nations, and, historically, in the British Empire. Prior to the dissolution of the colonies, the Chief Secretary was the second most important official in a colony of the British Empire after the...
of New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, responded to their request and arranged travel for the settlers on the James Patterson to Sydney. Two hundred and seventeen settlers remained upon arrival in Sydney.
Settlement in New Italy
The colonists found themselves in temporary accommodations for a short while, in the Old Agricultural Hall, as a media storm swelled around them. Eventually, they were hired out by the colony to English-speaking families for thirty pounds a year, in an attempt to force the Italians to assimilate into Australian culture. Families were torn apart, and many of the colonists hoped to settle an area of New South Wales, as enough skilled tradesmen existed among the settlers to form an established settlement. Hearing of land becoming available in the north, some colonists surveyed and individually claimed areas that collectively formed a 3000 acres (12 km²) parcel, and established the settlement of New Italy on the Richmond RiverRichmond River
The Richmond River is a river in the north-eastern corner of New South Wales, Australia. It runs for approximately 170 km from the foothills of the Border Ranges past the towns of Kyogle, Casino, Coraki, Woodburn, where it turns northward and empties into the Pacific Ocean at Ballina. It has a...
near Woodburn
Woodburn, New South Wales
Woodburn is a small highway town on the banks of the Richmond River in New South Wales, Australia. The busy Pacific Highway passes through the centre of town...
in 1882. Many of the former colonists moved to that area.
The settlement is now deserted, but a museum exists on the site.