Over a thousand toponyms have been left on the archipelago by explorers, hunters, fishermen, scientists and navies from all over the world, from the time of its discovery in 1772 to the present day.
In addition, they give a geographical portrait of the islands, as well as a zoological and botanical description: they make up their natural history.’’[1] The first toponymy of the archipelago, the names given by Yves Joseph de Kerguelen have almost all survived to the present day.
[1] This toponymy mainly derives from the names of the expedition's ships and officers, the navigator's native Brittany, the royal family, Kerguelen's patrons and ministers.
Here are a few examples: During his 1776 voyage, navigator James Cook sailed along the north, east, and southeast coasts of the archipelago, confirming its insularity.
There are also a few descriptive toponyms:[1] As soon as the maps drawn up by Kerguelen and especially Cook became known, the waters of the archipelago were frequented by British and especially American whalers and sealers, who named a number of places for their own use.
Some of these names were recorded on a handwritten map drawn by British captain Robert Rhodes, commanding the Hillsborough when he arrived in Kerguelen waters in 1799.
The British astronomical mission that came to observe the transit of Venus between November 1874 and February 1875 aboard the Volage and Supply also left its mark.
In 1966, Pierre Rolland, Superior Administrator of the TAAF, entrusted the validation of the toponymy of the Austral lands to a commission created by decree N°.16 of June 27, 1966.
It was made up of four members appointed by him: Gracie Delépine, curator at the Bibliothèque de documentation internationale contemporaine in Paris, was in charge of carrying out the necessary bibliographical research and drawing up the corresponding files.
It endeavored to follow five rules: It was based on the map of Kerguelen produced by the Institut Géographique National (IGN, by its French acronym)[5] between 1964 and 1967.