Prony: a corvette, a bay, a village

The Prony Corvette was launched in 1847. It was a wooden ship with mixed sail and steam propulsion.

Stationed in Brazil and La Plata in 1850, then decommissioned, the Prony was assigned in 1853 to the naval division responsible for claiming the territory of New Caledonia for France.

The Prony corvette sailed along the coast of New Caledonia, and the Bay of Prony, in the south of the island, was named after her.

An establishment of the Bagne de Nouvelle-Calédonie, known as Camp Sebert, was set up there. After the penal colony closed, families of miners employed in ore extraction occupied the buildings.

Treasure hunters can still be found here, as it is said that a convict who was happy to gamble died here without disclosing the hiding place for his booty, located somewhere in the village…