Matthew Flinders was an English navigator and cartographer who became known as the man who gave Australia its name. He made voyages to Australia with Captain William Bligh, and he recorded his adventures in a book called A Voyage to Terra Australis, which is regarded as one of the earliest works on the exploration of the Australian continent. Matthew Flinders was born in Donington, England on the 16th of March, 1774. He was greatly inspired to go to sea after reading Robinson Crusoe, and he decided to join the navy when he was 15 years old. He served on a few ships before he was transferred to Captain Bligh’s HMS Providence, which was involved in the transportation of breadfruit to Jamaica. In 1792, Flinders sailed to Australia for the first time and landed at the Adventure Bay on the island of Tasmania. Three years later, Flinders became a midshipman on the HMS Reliance, which was sailing for Australia, and he made the acquaintance of George Bass, the ship surgeon. After the ship arrived in Port Jackson, Flinders and Bass explored the region around the port with a small boat, and they went to Botany Bay, Georges River, and Lake Illawarra. In the year 1798, he was promoted to the position of Lieutenant, and he was ordered to lead an expedition to the strait between Tasmania and the Australian mainland. The strait became known as Bass Strait after the expedition, and the strait’s largest island was named Flinders Island. In 1800, the Reliance sailed back to England. Upon arrival, Flinders met with a number of scientists who were curious about his expeditions in Australia. One of these scientists was Sir Joseph Banks, who told Earl Spencer about Flinders’ ambition to chart Australia’s coastline. In turn, Earl Spencer convinced the Admiralty to make arrangements for such an expedition. In 1801, Flinders was made the commander of a sloop called Investigator, and he made another voyage to Australia in July of the same year. After arriving in Cape Leeuwin, Flinders sailed along the coastline of the Australian mainland. He sailed pass Port Phillip, and then made his way to Sydney to stock up on supplies. From Sydney, he traveled north along the coast of Queensland, and he sailed into the Torres Strait and reached the Gulf of Carpentaria. Soon, he would discover that the ship was leaking, and he had to make a quick return to Sydney, along the western coast. Upon arrival in Sydney, he found that the Investigator was too badly damaged to sail again. Flinders tried to return to England with the HMS Porpoise, but the ship wrecked at the Great Barrier Reef. He returned to Sydney, and he was given command of the Cumberland, a schooner that was sailing for England. The condition of the Cumberland worsened during the course of the voyage, and he had to make a stop at Mauritius, which was a French colony. At that time, England and France were at war, and Flinders was detained on the island for a number of years. During his stay in Mauritius, he sent a map of the Australian landmass he had charted to England. The map was titled “AUSTRALIA”, and the name has remained until this very day. He was finally freed in 1810, and he made his way back to England. Flinders was in poor health when he reached England in October, 1810. He started to work on his book A Voyage to Terra Australis, which was finally published on the 18th of July, 1814. Flinders passed away one day after the publication of the book.
Resources on Flinders and His Journey
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