St Helena goes on show – in Australia

A “beautiful watercolour of Napoleon’s grave in St Helena” features in a new exhibition that tells of the emperor’s fascination with Australia, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.

The National Gallery of Victoria’s “winter blockbuster exhibition” covers the Frencyh Revolution, the Reign of Terror, and the exile to St Helena.

Articles on display also tell how 19th century travellers to Australia stopped on the island and took cuttings of willow from around Napoleon’s grave, as well as other plants.

The curators have also secured a uniform worn by Napoleon in exile on St Helena. “Even in defeat he dressed like an emperor,” says the Herald.

LINKS:
Napoleon: revolution to empire – Sydney Morning Herald
Journal du conservateur des domaines Français de Sainte-Hélènepour vous tenir informés sur les domaines français et l’île de Sainte-Hélène – blog by Michel Dancoisne-Martineau on St Helena

About Simon Pipe

I'm a former journalist and part-time university teacher, now working in a role combining environment and disability. I spend the rest of the time dancing, gardening, and walking/running on long-distance challenge events. I was a senior broadcast journalist at the BBC and a reporter, sub-editor and feature writer on newspapers before that. For five years I ran St Helena Online, a news website about the remote British island in the South Atlantic, at www.sthelenaonline.org - now redesigned by a new owner.

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