D’Entrecasteaux, Bruni (1739-1793), a French naval commander, explored much of southern Australia. Joseph Antoine Bruni D’Entrecasteaux was born in Aix-en-Provence, in France. After commanding the French naval squadron in the East Indies, he led the expedition sent by the French revolutionary government in 1791 to find the missing explorer La Perouse. Accompanied by scientists, D’Entrecasteaux combined his search with a scientific survey of Australia and the South Pacific. He surveyed the southern coast of Western Australia from Cape Leeuwin to the Head of the Bight and made a detailed survey of the east coast of Tasmania, discovering what is now known as D’Entrecasteaux Channel. Farther north, he surveyed the islands of the West Pacific close to New Guinea.
