On 8th April, the Gros Ventre left Shark Bay and headed for Timor arriving on 3rd May 1772, with many of the crew sick.

 

Early September the Gros Ventre finally arrived back in Mauritius, but de Saint Aloüarn was ill fast and died on 27th October 1772 in Port Louis, Ile de France (Mauritius). Saint-Aloüarn never had the opportunity to articulate his journey and his expedition‘s results were not properly followed up.

In January 1998, an expedition led by M. Philippe Godard and including members of the Batavia Coast Maritime Heritage Group from Geraldton, discovered a French écu bearing the head of King Louis XV and dated 1766 at a site on the cliff top overlooking Turtle Bay. The silver coin, which was encased in a lead capsule, is believed to be associated with de Saint Aloüarn's expedition. An evaluation by the WA Museum of both the artefact and the site concluded that it was a genuine find.

 

The site was considered to be at risk from natural erosion but more significantly from further uncontrolled explorations. This was a risk exacerbated by the broad media coverage that accompanied the discovery of the coin. In collaboration with the Centre for Archaeology at the University of WA, the WA Museum fielded an archaeological expedition to the site in March - April 1998. The project had the broad aims of assessing and recording the site and exploring undefined locations along the ridge above Turtle Bay.

 

The expedition uncovered a French wine bottle, sealed with lead encapsulating another French écu dated 1767. It was clear that this find and the Godard coin were part of the de Saint Aloüarn annexation assemblage. Unfortunately, the parchment annexation document was not found inside the bottle.