Brue was born in Paris in 1786 and one of the greatest cartographers of his day. He was a deck hand on the Baudin expedition to the South Seas, initially on the Naturaliste and then transferred to the Casuarina at Port Jackson. He made a great impression on Louis Freycinet the cartographer, and had Brue Reef named after him in 1803.
He was to become the French Royal Cartographer.