Matthew Flinders
Matthew Flinders, was an English navigator who charted much of the Australian coast.
He was born on March 16, 1774, Donington, Lincolnshire, England. He died on July 19, 1814, London.
In 1795 he sailed to Australia, where he explored and charted its southeast coast and circumnavigated the island of Tasmania. As commander of the Investigator, he again sailed from England for Australia in 1801. On this visit he surveyed the entire southern coast, from Cape Leeuwin, in the southwest, to the Bass Strait, which separates mainland Australia from Tasmania. On July 22, 1802, he sailed from Sydney (on Port Jackson) and charted the east coast of Australia and the Gulf of Carpentaria on the north coast. Continuing westward and southward, he circumnavigated Australia and again reached Port Jackson on June 9, 1803.
In December, on the voyage back to England, the condition of his ship required him to stop at the Île de France (now Mauritius) in the western Indian Ocean. There he was interned by the French authorities and was not allowed to leave for England until 1810. His Voyage to Terra Australis appeared shortly before his death.
(Source: http://www.britannica.com/)
He was born on March 16, 1774, Donington, Lincolnshire, England. He died on July 19, 1814, London.
In 1795 he sailed to Australia, where he explored and charted its southeast coast and circumnavigated the island of Tasmania. As commander of the Investigator, he again sailed from England for Australia in 1801. On this visit he surveyed the entire southern coast, from Cape Leeuwin, in the southwest, to the Bass Strait, which separates mainland Australia from Tasmania. On July 22, 1802, he sailed from Sydney (on Port Jackson) and charted the east coast of Australia and the Gulf of Carpentaria on the north coast. Continuing westward and southward, he circumnavigated Australia and again reached Port Jackson on June 9, 1803.
In December, on the voyage back to England, the condition of his ship required him to stop at the Île de France (now Mauritius) in the western Indian Ocean. There he was interned by the French authorities and was not allowed to leave for England until 1810. His Voyage to Terra Australis appeared shortly before his death.
(Source: http://www.britannica.com/)
Bass and FlindersBass and Flinders were explorers. They explored in a rowing boat called ‘Tom Thumb’. They also proved that Tasmania was an island, separated from the mainland of Australia.
Click here to read more from kidcyber.com.au/ Matthew Flinders' Mementos |
The First Complete Map of AustraliaLieutenant Matthew Flinders was the cartographer of the first complete map of Australia and the first person to circumnavigate the continent and advocate the name ‘Australia’.
In 1802, Flinders set out on his circumnavigation of Australia in the Investigator. It was a monumental undertaking. In 1798, Finders and George Bass had sailed around Van Diemen‘s Land and proved it was an island. Now Flinders was about to establish that Australia's east coast was, in fact, part of the same land mass as the west coast, first surveyed by the Dutch in the seventeenth century. Click here to read more about the importance of Flinders' charting skills from Treasure Explorers Matthew Flinders' Journeys |