I'm sitting on a tree trunk with Bill, the clan chief. We've just found the waterfall, and now it’s time to rest. He leans towards me: "Hubert, yes my ancestors were primitive, but they were not anthropophagous. They didn't eat the whites. They weren't cannibals."I turn to him: "My ancestors wrote everything in their journal. When they came here from France 250 years ago, after a very long journey, they were exhausted, sick, hungry, and thirsty. Your ancestors welcomed them as friends, gave them water, fish, and fruits. They took care of them. Your ancestors were not cannibals, they were welcoming and very kind people, and we've also come to thank you."
– Field notes by Hubert Sagnières / March 21, 2024, 4:00 PM, Port Praslin
Lambom, New Ireland
On June 6, 1768, Louis de Bougainville, commanding La Boudeuse, passes Cape St. George at the southern tip of New Ireland. The Pacific crossing was difficult, especially in the Archipel des Traîtres. He just mapped Choiseul Island (Solomon Islands) and Bougainville Island (Papua New Guinea). He heads north and discovers a well-protected bay, which he names Port Praslin in honor of the French Minister of the Navy. With Blosseville, his second in command, they explore the primary forest at the bottom of the bay:
"We all went to see a wonderful waterfall, which supplied water to the stream of the ship l’Étoile. Art would strive in vain to produce in the palaces of kings what nature has thrown into an untamed corner. We admired the prominent groups, whose almost regular gradations precipitate and diversify the fall of water. We followed with surprise all these varied masses for the figure, and which form a hundred unequal basins, where the crystal sheets are received, colored by immense trees, some of which have their foot in the basins themselves: this waterfall would deserve the greatest painter."
– Louis Antoine de Bougainville1
On August 13, 1823, Louis Duperrey and his second César Dumont d’Urville aboard their ship La Coquille, land in New Ireland from the south and anchor in Port Praslin Bay. An artist by the name of Jules Lejeune accompanies them.
"The shores of Port Praslin are traversed by a large number of sources descending from the mountains surrounding the harbor they shelter. The most remarkable, as the most abundant of these sources, is the one Bougainville described in his account, and which is named Cascade de Bougainville. This French sailor saw it in the wintering season, a time when the volume of water descending from it was considerable. After exploring, for the sake of my natural history collections, around the Bougainville Cascade, I climbed the mountain on the slope of which it is located and followed its sinuosities for some time.
Coming out of the dense woods to return to the sea, I met some natives who had built a sort of ajoupa [hut] with palm leaves; two fires were burning and were used to roast laka fruits, which have a little the shape but above all the flavor of chestnuts, and these fruits, which litter the ground, are the main resource of the natives during their trips into the woods. They offered to share their frugal meal, and I sat down among them, crunching the rather hard chestnuts, but which appetite made delicate as they were roasted one by one. A stream of fresh water flowed by our side and served to refresh us."
–
1 Bougainville, Louis Antoine de. Voyage autour du monde par la frégate du roi "la Boudeuse" et la flûte "l'Étoile"; en 1766, 1767, 1768 & 1769. A Paris, chez Saillant & Nyon, libraires, rue S. Jean-de-Beauvais. De l'imprimerie de Lebreton, premier imprimeur ordinaire du roi. M. DCC. LXXI. Avec approbation et privilèges du roi, 1771. Free translation.
2 Duperrey, Louis Isidore. "June 1823 Journal Entry." Voyage autour du monde, exécuté par ordre du roi, sur la corvette de Sa Majesté, la Coquille, pendant les années 1822, 1823, 1824 et 1825, Arthus Bertrand, Paris, 1826-1830. Free translation
When preparing our 5-month expedition around the world following the footsteps of the great French explorers of the 18th and 19th centuries, one of the objectives we had set was to find this waterfall, the Cascade de Bougainville.
At our disposal: a map, an illustration from 200 years ago, the "Spirit of St Exupéry" our Pilatus aircraft,
and, of course, the logbooks and extracts of the relations of French explorers in my own book, Daring
3 French Explorations which we just published in English this year.
We dedicated over six months to meticulous preparations, from setting the right logistics and identifying locations to obtaining permission from local clans since the bay is in customary territory. We allowed ourselves 15 days in Papua to find the waterfall while we also must manage to obtain the administrative permits to fly over the islands with our Pilatus. A big challenge will be to obtain enough JetA fuel in this country facing a shortage of aeronautic fuel. Finally, we will have to establish a base camp in one of the villages identified on Google Earth. But how will we reach them? How will we be received?
The virtual meeting with Walter Schnaubelt sets our project into a whole new dimension, thanks to a connection made by Marine Bayer. Marine is one of the first female helicopter pilots in the French Navy,
3 Daring French Explorations,1714-1854, Trailblazing adventures around the world. Featuring Bougainville, Laperouse, Dumont d’Urville, and more " Hubert Sagnières, Edward Duyker (FRW), Flammarion, 2024, ISBN 978-2- 08-042845-5.
now acting as a travelling nurse in Papua with "AidOcean”, the NGO she founded. She and Shaun, her Australian friend living in Kavieng, are categorical: only Walter can help you! So, motivate him!
Walter Schnaubelt is the Minister of Transport & Civil Aviation and member for Namatanai District, South New Ireland, PNG. He’s also native of a village south of the island. I use WhatsApp to send him the map of Bougainville, the illustration of the Cascade, as well as the story of our crazy project!
Convincing Walter wasn’t a challenge! The prospect of French and Canadians showing interest in the history of his ancestors and seeking a waterfall unknown to him, he who has trudged all his childhood in the south of New Ireland, was enough to intrigue him. On March 3, his answer finally arrives: "Hubert, I'm taking care of everything, when will you be here?"
On March 19, we depart from Kokopo, New Britain, aboard 3 provision-laden boats and accompanied by a team of six to assist us. It takes two hours to reach the village of Lambom, which on my map is north of Port Praslin. A diverse crowd awaits us. They were informed of our arrival by Monday's call: every Monday, the chief of the clan blows the conch, as his ancestors did, to summon the inhabitants to join him on the
small island of Lambom where the community center is located. This Monday, the big news was about our arrival!
Over 300 individuals are gathered there, seated on the ground under the roof of the community center. Walter introduces us, the clan chief extends his welcome. They’re eager to know what we’ve come to do on their land. I explain the purpose of our expedition, I show copies of the old maps and the illustration of the waterfall. I speak to them about their ancestors who welcomed these French sailors so kindly. The maps and the image circulate from hand to hand. They seem fascinated! Walter echoes my words in pidgin, fostering discussions among all.
However, disappointment struck as they inform us there is no waterfall to the south... They say fresh water is to the north, contradicting our maps where the waterfall is clearly to the south of Lambom. They want to help us, they want to participate, they want to take us north the next day. How could we decline? Their eagerness leads to plans for a northward journey the next day.
Our base camp is established in a small village called Lassabar, facing Lambom island. At 8 a.m. the next morning, the clan chief accompanied by about twenty Papuans fetch us to go north.
A flotilla of 5 banana boats navigates along the eastern shore of New Ireland, we enter a bay that I recognize as the “Port des Anglais” on my map. It's the bay where Carteret landed in 1866, not Port Praslin at all! There we discover fresh water sources, and the settlement of the 500 French, who in 1880, tried to settle on this island, and the majority of whom died from malaria. Not the slightest waterfall, tough.
That evening, Walter has invited the inhabitants of other villages to feast with us. The night falls, it's a bit cooler. After dinner, Walter asks me again to explain to everyone the purpose of our expedition. There are about fifty of us sitting on the grass. My maps are still being passed around and sparks discussions.
Suddenly, Digel, a Papuan taller than the other with very sunken cheekbones interject Walter in pidgin: he knows this waterfall. It's to the south, he's been there! Tomorrow, we'll head south!
On March 21, there are now six boats sailing south! The map from 200 years ago is again being passed among the Papuans accompanying us and important members of the villages are also eager to join.
Walter is still skeptical! Diegel directs the boats precisely to Port Praslin Bay. We land on a small beach as Bill Penias, the chief of the local clan approaches us. It's his land, he welcomes us, but insists that members of his clan guide us.
He looks at my illustration. "Yes, the waterfall is there, a 15-minute walk away. But there's no water, we're in the dry season," he says, "the waterfall fills up in winter." "This bay that you call Port Praslin, we actually call it Kabatawan."
Now, there are near a hundred of us going up a dry river. I stay at the back with Chief Bill. Far ahead of me, there are excited shouts. Walter is shouting, "Hubert, Hubert, I have proof that it's your waterfall!" I slowly climb from pool to pool to a higher level where the small crowd is vociferous!
There it is, Bougainville's Cascade!
Walter shows me a huge dead tree, lying on the left side of the waterfall, "Look, it's the tree depicted in the illustration," incredible! It's there, the visible stump. The waterfall is where it should be! Identical to the illustration... minus the water. Walter is so happy that he starts a chant, and all the Papuans join in.
Tonight, in Lassabar, it's a celebration, our hosts Misselu and Liliane have decided to dedicate 2 pigs to celebrate our discovery. The feast lasts into the night, discussions endure. I catch that everyone is talking about their ancestors. The Southern Cross above our heads seems brighter than in previous days. Digel, the Papuan who recalled the waterfall the night before approaches me with a question: "The two naked men, with spears in your illustration, do you know their names? They might be my ancestors, like the 2 dressed in white men are yours." And here I am tasked with a new mission: to find out the names of the Papuans who guided Duperrey and Dumont d'Urville!
The next day, we return to Lambom island by boat. They are all there, children, women, men from the villages of Lambom. Walter speaks to them in pidgin. He tells them about our discoveries. As the elected representative of this district, he tells them to take care of this waterfall, that it is now part of their history, their heritage. He asks the school principal to make a visit to the Cascade a school project for the children. I distribute to the community all the maps I have left and all the copies of the illustration.
Before leaving the island, Walter asks all the children to draw Bougainville's Cascade. Walter will be back in June and the best drawing will receive 1000 kinas (US $330). I top it up by offering a prize to the next 9 best contestants.
Back in Lassabar, Walter still can't believe it! "Hubert, at first I would not believe it, not for a second. It couldn't exist in that place, your waterfall!"
And yet! With the help of adventure stories written in 1768, ship logs written in 1823, an illustration over 200 years old in hand, we have found Bougainville's cascade. According to Louis de Bougainville, it deserved the talents of the greatest painter! The 300 children of Lambom are thus preparing, 256 years later, to fulfill Bougainville's wish.