Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville was a French explorer and naval officer who explored the south and western Pacific, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica. As a botanist and cartographer, he gave his name to several seaweeds, plants and shrubs, and places such as d'Urville Island in New Zealand.
Jules Dumont d'Urville
Inauguration of the monument erected in honour of La Pérouse, shipwrecked and lost on the island of Vanikoro.
Dumont d'Urville's expedition at Vanikoro.
Māori men and women on board Astrolabe performing a dance, with a French officer at right.
Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in common, including language relatedness, cultural practices, and traditional beliefs. In centuries past, they had a strong shared tradition of sailing and using stars to navigate at night.
Cook's Bay on Moorea, French Polynesia
Mokoliʻi Isle near Oahu, Hawaii
Moai at Ahu Tongariki on Rapa Nui
Grinding stones discovered from archaeology in Samoa