Replica of HMS Norfolk, now on display at the Bass and Flinders Heritage Museum, Georgetown, Tasmania
Matthew Flinders (1774-1814) was an accomplished navigator and cartographer, having circumnavigated the Australian continent, proved that Tasmania was not joined to the mainland, and played a major part in the naming of Australia. Despite Flinders short life he accomplished some exceptional feats. His charts were of a particularly high standard and though published in 1814, many continued to be republished and used until recent years. Flinders most famous chart was of the Australian continent, published in 1814, which is famously named 'General Chart of Terra Australis or Australia'. Undoubtedly the foremost explorer and hydrographer of the Australian coastline, Matthew Flinders carried out several important and daring voyages of discovery along coastal portions of the land now known as Australia. He was the first to consistently use the term Australia, and it was at his recommendation that it was officially adopted, something that would have guaranteed him a place in history apart from his many other achievements. Additionally he was first to prove that the eastern and western sections of Australia were connected, and his work gave the map of Australia its final shape. Interestingly, Matthew Flinders is believed to have been an accomplished flute player, unusual for a Royal Navy Commander.
Statue of Matthew Flinders in his home town of Donington, Lincolnshire, England
Flinders was born at Donington, here in Lincolnshire, in 1774; he died in 1814. As a British naval officer he undertook to explore the great unknown continent and, in particular, to circumnavigate it. Contrary to popular belief, he never did circumnavigate Australia - the first to achieve that exploratory milestone was Frenchman Bruni d'Entrecasteaux, when he visited Australia's shores in 1792 and 1793, some three years before Flinders first reached Australia's shores. It must be said, however, that d'Entrecasteaux took the "long way round", and did not follow the coast to the north of Australia via the Gulf of Carpentaria, but passed north of New Guinea. Sailing aboard HMS Mermaid in 1817-1822, it was Phillip Parker King who completed the task Flinders had been given, namely, to circumnavigate Australia and map the coast as he went.
Flinders' chart of Spencers Gulf, South Australia
Upon first reaching Australia's shores in 1796, Flinders began exploring parts of the NSW coast south of Sydney with his friend George Bass. The first two trips took place in small open boats, both called Tom Thumb; the second of these involved some dramatic events. After a surveying trip south in the Francis, Flinders carried out important work in the Norfolk, including the circumnavigation of Tasmania, also with George Bass. Soon after he commanded the Norfolk on an expedition to the waters of southern Queensland.
On his return to England, assisted by Joseph Banks, he lobbied for, and gained command of the expedition of his life - the first close circumnavigation of Terra Australis. In 1801 the Admiralty put him in command of HMS Investigator which was to undertake and complete the exploration of the Australian coastline. While supervising the provisioning of the Investigator (a converted collier), he found time to resume his friendship with Ann Chappelle, a relationship that blossomed. Matthew and Ann married, but they suffered the pain of long separation as Ann was forbidden by the Admiralty to join the voyage.
After the lengthy trip from England, Flinders explored the southern coast of New Holland, thus beginning the first close circumnavigation of the 'island continent', Australia. The scientific gentlemen collected much information of value and the artist set to work; Robert Brown, Ferdinand Bauer and William Westall later achieved considerable recognition through the Investigator voyage. At Cape Catastrophe the expedition suffered the loss of the ship's boat and its eight sailors, including Flinders' close associate, John Thistle.45 days after the incident, Flinders entered a bay on what is now the Fleurieu Peninsula and made a surprise encounter with Frenchman Nicholas Baudin, whose corvette La Geographe under Baudin's command also on a voyage of discovery and exploration of the Australian coast. La Geographe had become separated from her consort, "Le Naturaliste" by a gale in Bass Strait. Flinders' naturalist, Dr George Brown, acted as interpreter. Baudin had been sent out by the Republic to make good the French claims to Southern Australia, from Western Port to Nuyt's Archipelago, which they called Terre Napoleon. Though the meeting took place before the start of the Napoleonic Wars in 1803, the two navigators were on similar missions but for different countries, and were therefore somewhat wary of each other. Nevertheless, they were still able to share their experiences amicably over breakfast before going their separate ways. This meeting of competitors is remembered by the name Encounter Bay which Flinders gave to the location. Between them, Flinders and Baudin gave over 70 per cent of the names of Australia's coastal features.
Flinders and Baudin at Encounter Bay
After reprovisioning at Sydney the great voyage of circumnavigation resumed, with new crew members recruited to replace those lost. Dramatic moments occured while passing through the Great Barrier Reef, in the Gulf of Carpentaria during hostilities with aborigines, and at the inspection of the ship's deteriorating hull in the North. After reprovisioning at Timor, an increasing number of crew developed dysentry, and with a mounting death toll and a heavy heart, Flinders was forced to abandon the remainder of his survey, and head for Port Jackson with all haste. On arrival at Sydney he wrote a letter to Ann, his words heavy with grief.
On his way back to England as a passenger in the Porpoise, with charts and journals, to organise another vessel to replace the Investigator, Flinders was shipwrecked on a coral reef east of the Queensland coast. He organised the stranded sailors and undertook a gallant ocean rescue effort. Arriving at Mauritius on his way home to England in 1803, Flinders declined an invitation to dine with the Governor of the island, Captain-General De Caen. Flinders' action led the Governor to suspect Flinders as a spy and he was interned indefinitely - England was then at war with France. When Mauritius was blockaded by the British in 1810, Flinders gained his freedom and returned home. His long imprisonment, combined with harsh conditions during his years at sea, may have contributed to his declining health.
Finally returning to England he gained an overdue promotion, but failed to gain fame, or even due recognition, for his accomplishments. After years of absence, Matthew and his beloved Ann resumed married life, and a daughter, Anne, was born to the couple. Flinders drove himself to work tirelessly on his vast collections of detailed writings and treasured charts, finally completing his expedition account under difficult conditions, while a terminally ill man. Flinders never saw his published journals and atlas. Copies were rushed to him as he lay on his deathbed on 18th July, 1814. By this time he was unconscious. He died the following day, aged 40 years.
His widow, Ann, and daughter, Anne, suffered financial difficulties over the following years. Several decades later the governments of the NSW and Victorian colonies offered financial assistance, and while Ann had died, Anne used this money to help bring up and educate Matthew and Ann Flinders' grandson, William Matthew Flinders Petrie, who became prominent in his own right.
His journal of the Investigator's voyages around the Australian coast, Voyage to Terra Australis, was published just before he died. The geography of Australia's coastline was of vital importance to Matthew Flinders; he placed the highest priority upon filling in the blanks on existing charts, and was the first to explore the vast length of the southern coast. His charts were accurate, his writings informative and detailed. He was the greatest Navigator of his time.
Memorial to Matthew Flinders at Euston Station, London
The burial ground where Flinders was laid to rest is now either St. James Gardens or within the site of Euston Station in London. Where his remains got to after the 1814 burial is not known. It is a matter of record, however, that his widow visited the burial ground not long before her own death (in February 1852) and found the entrance had been changed and his remains removed from where he had been buried. It could very well be that his remains were dumped at the back of the burial ground on land now part of Euston Station, perhaps under platforms 12 - 15, or they are still in the burial ground at St. James Gardens. There are still a small number of large tombstones in the gardens. Sadly they are largely overgrown and in such a poor state that any engraved details are largely illegible.
