Who was Matthew Flinders?

Answer 1

Matthew Flinders was born on 16 March 1774 in Lincolnshire, England. He became a sea explorer, and arrived in Australia in the 1790s. Together with George Bass, Flinders completed much sea exploration around Australia, adding to the knowledge of the coastline, and producing accurate maps. Flinders, together with Bass, was the first to prove that Van Diemen's Land, or Tasmania, was an island and not connected to the mainland. Flinders was also the first to circumnavigate the continent, and between December 1801 and June 1803, he charted most of the coastline of Australia. The western half of Australia was previously known as New Holland, whilst the eastern half was known as New South Wales. Flinders first proposed the name "Terra Australis", which became "Australia", the name adopted in 1824.

Flinders was captured by the French on the island of Mauritius in 1803. He was kept prisoner until 1810 on the grounds that he was a spy. He was finally released to return to England, but due to the ravages of his time as a prisoner, his health suffered and he died at the age of 40, on 19 July 1814. Before his death he completed a book on his travels called 'A Voyage to Terra Australis', and died on the day that his book was published.

Flinders was also well known for his cat, "Trim", who accompanied Flinders between 1799 and 1804, when Trim died whilst Flinders was incarcerated. Trim was a great favourite with Flinders' sailors, and a little known manuscript from Flinders' writings emerged in the latter half of the twentieth century, and was later published under the name of "Trim". It was Flinders' personal account of his beloved cat.

Answer 2

Matthew Flinders was captured by the French, on the island of Mauritius, in 1803. He was kept prisoner until 1810 on the grounds that he was a spy, as Great Britain and France were at war at the time. He was finally released to return to England, but his health had suffered as a result of his years of imprisonment. He died at the age of 40, on 19 July 1814.

Answer 3

Matthew Flinders is considered the most successful navigator and cartographer of his age.

Born on 16 March 1774 in Lincolnshire, England, Flinders was inspired by the reports of Captain James Cook's voyages. Also, it was after reading Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe" that he decided he wanted to be an explorer and sailor.

He arrived in Australia in the 1790s. Together with George Bass, Flinders completed much sea exploration around Australia, adding to the knowledge of the coastline, and producing accurate maps. Flinders, together with Bass, was the first to prove that Van Diemen's Land, or Tasmania, was an island and not connected to the mainland. Flinders was also the first to circumnavigate the continent, and between December 1801 and June 1803, he charted most of the coastline of Australia. The western half of Australia was previously known as New Holland, whilst the eastern half was known as New South Wales. Flinders first proposed the name "Terra Australis", which became "Australia", the name adopted in 1824.

Flinders was captured by the French on the island of Mauritius in 1803. He was kept prisoner until 1810 on the grounds that he was a spy. He was finally released to return to England, but his health began to fail and he died young, on 19 July 1814. Before his death he completed a book on his travels called 'A Voyage to Terra Australis', and died on the day that his book was published.

Flinders was also well known for his cat, "Trim", who accompanied Flinders between 1799 and 1804. Trim disappeared - possibly eaten by the wildlife of the island - while Flinders was imprisoned there. Trim was a great favourite with Flinders' sailors, and a little known manuscript from Flinders' writings emerged in the latter half of the twentieth century, and was later published under the name of "Trim". It was Flinders' personal account of his beloved cat.

Answer 4

Captain Matthew Flinders was born on the 16th of March 1774, in Donington, Lincolnshire, England.