0
Bass and Flinders
Questions and information about Australian explorers George Bass and Matthew Flinders.
177 Questions
Why was Matthew Flinders imprisoned?
After circumnavigating Australia, Flinders was returning to England when he was shipwrecked, in 1803. He sheltered with his crew (and his cat Trim) for two months in tents on islands. When some ships finally came to rescue Flinders, he chose to go aboard the small schooner Minikin rather than go aboard a larger, sturdier ship. The Minikin started to leak and Flinders was forced to take shelter on a French island, where he was taken for a spy. At that stage, Flinders was unaware that England and France were at war, and despite his protestations of innocence, the French insisted on detaining Flinders. The French kept Flinders prisoner for almost seven years.
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.
What contribution did Matthew Flinders make to the development of Australia?
Matthew Flinders became famous through his exploration work.
He first circumnavigated Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) with George Bass, determining that Tasmania was an island, and thereby reducing travel time from South Africa to New South wales by a full week.
Between December 1801 and June 1803, Flinders charted the entire coastline of Australia, filling in the gaps in the knowledge of Australia's coast.
Australia was previously known as New Holland, and Flinders first proposed the name "Terra Australis", which became "Australia", the name adopted in 1824. He also wrote a book, A Voyage to Terra Australis.
Did Matthew Flinders have a dog?
Yes. Matthew Flinders had a cat named Trim, who accompanied Flinders on most of his journeys between 1799 and 1804.
Where did Matthew Flinders sail?
Matthew Flinders is most famous for circumnavigating the entire continent of Australia. He and George Bass explored the coastline South of Sydney, and together they made the discovery that Van Diemen's land (now Tasmania) was a separate island, and not joined to the mainland as had previously been thought.
What year did Matthew Flinders discover Australia?
Matthew Flinders did not discover Australia. Australia had already been "discovered" by the Aborigines, followed by Asian traders of trepang (sea slugs), followed by Dutch seaman Willem Jansz in 1606.
Did Matthew flinders have siblings?
Matthew Flinders had at least one younger brother Samuel Ward Flinders who also entered the Royal Navy.
On Matthew Flinders main voyage to chart and circumnavigate the Australian continent, Samuel accompanied his older brother as 2nd Lieutenant.
Flinders also had 2 younger step-sisters: Susan and Hannah.
What was the first ship to circumnavigate Australia?
This was Matthew Flinders. Matthew Flinders's circumnavigation of Australia was undertaken between December 1801 and June 1803. On this journey, he discovered that Australia was a single continent, and not split by a large gulf or river, as had been theorised.
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 at the age of 40, on 19 July 1814.
Why was Matthew Flinders famous?
Matthew Flinders performed 2 major circumnavigations in Australian waters.
In 1798 he was the first to circumnavigate Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) thus proving it is an island.
From 1801 to 1803 he performed the first close circumnavigation of the continent of Australia.
In both cases he provided the first highly accurate and relatively complete maps of the Coastlines.
Many years before he also circumnavigated the globe whilst serving with William Bligh.
Why did Flinders go on his journey?
Many of Flinders's journeys were for the purpose of mapping the Australian continent, and filling in the gaps left by previous explorers.
What did Bass and Flinders do in the sloop Norfolk in 1798?
In 1798, George Bass and Matthew Flinders circumnavigated Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania, Australia's island state) in the sloop Norfolk, proving that it was an island.
Where did Matthew flinders grow up?
Matthew flinders grew up in: The Galaxy, The Universe, Earth, England, Lincolnshire, Donington.
Who charted the southern coast of Australia?
The southern coast of Australia was charted in great detail by Matthew Flinders, who circumnavigated the entire continent between 1800 and 1802.
What were the hardships that Matthew flinders have to face?
During his earlier career, Flinders probably only experienced the standard hardships of a naval life.
However, later in his career there are a number of notable incidents of hardship and bad-luck.
In late 1802, with half of his circumnavigation of Australia completed, his ship the Investigator was found to be rotting. For the rest of the voyage back to Sydney he and his crew lived in fear of hitting some reef or sandbar which might cause the ship to sink. Upon his return to Sydney the Investigator was condemned. Ultimately this ended his exploration career.
On the return to Sydney they stopped in at Timor to get fresh supplies. The water they took on board was foul so dysentery and scurvy broke out aboard ship. By the time they reached Sydney, Flinders feet were so badly affected by scurvy-related ulcers what he could not walk and was forced to take leave to allow for his recuperation.
With the Investigator condemned, Flinders in 1803 was forced to return to England in another ship the Porpoise. This and another ship struck an uncharted reef in the Coral Sea and all were shipwrecked. Flinders took an open boat and a crew and barely managed to sail/row nearly 1000 km back to Sydney to raise the alarm. By the time they made it to Sydney they were out of food, and Flinders looked so bedraggled that not even Governor King recognised him.
Flinders was given the small ship the Cumberland in which he picked up his papers and charts of his exploration from Wreck Reef, and sailed for England. However, the Cumberland leaked badly and the pumps were rotten. He was forced to put in at the French held island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean to make repairs. Little did he know that Britain and France were again at war, and he was imprisoned as a spy for nearly 7 years.
During that time he lost one of his closest companions - his ship's cat named "Trim". He was devastated by the loss - fearing that the locals had eaten the cat.
His maps had been confiscated by the French and they attempted to publish his charts as if they were French discoveries.
After finally being freed by a British blockade of the island, he had not seen his wife for a decade.
Upon returning to England, over the next few years he set about writing a 2 volume journal of his discoveries but it became increasingly obvious that his health was failing from some sort of serious stomach complaint; often leaving him in intense pain.
In 1814, after completing the journals he collapsed into bed never to leave it again. A published copy of his journals was rushed to his bedside but he had already lapsed into a coma. He died the next day, at the age of 40, never setting his eyes on the completed work.
What hardships did Flinders encounter on his journey?
It depends on which journey you are referring to.
During his circumnavigation of Australia, Flinders' crew suffered badly from dysentery after taking on too much fruit at Timor in an attempt to ward off scurvy. As a result, Flinders lost at least seven of his crew, either during the rest of the trip or withi a few days of returning to Port Jackson. Also, his ship The Investigator leaked and rotted - by the time he returned to Sydney, it had to be condemned.
When Flinders was returning to England he was shipwrecked on a coral reef in 1803. Ships arrived to assist Flinders and his crew, and Flinders went aboard the schooner 'Minikin' rather than join the crew who travelled on a larger, sturdier ship. The 'Minikin' began to take on water and Flinders was forced to land at the Isle of France. However, he did not know that apparently England and France were at war, so he was detained on the island of Mauritius as a spy for many years. Although he was kept relatively well, his health did suffer. Also during this time, he lost his beloved ship's cat, Trim, who had sailed wth Flinders since 1799 (possibly 1797, according to varied sources). One night Trim disappeared, never to be seen again. Flinders was distraught, and during his next few years' internment at the island, penned an historic and little-known essay, a tribute to his beloved cat Trim. Flinders himself died soon after returning to England as a result of ill-health from his time in imprisonment.
Matthew Flinder's captain aboard the bounty?
This question mixes up two different events in Australian seafaring history.
Matthew Flinders sailed with Captain William Bligh on the Providence prior to coming to Australia.
Captain William Blight was captain of the Bounty when the crew mutinied. Flinders had nothing to do with this event.
What has been named after George Bass?
* The most obvious place named after explorer George Bass is Bass Strait. This is the strait that lies between the Australian states of Victoria and Tasmania. * In Victoria, there is a town named Bass, 110 km southeast of Melbourne, and the Bass Highway which leads south along the eastern shore of Western Port. * The southern shore of Victoria, near Phillip Island, has come to be known as the Bass Coast, and Victoria has a Bass River. * Tasmania also has the Bass Highway, as well as the Federal and State electoral divisions of Bass. * New South Wales has a headland named Bass Point, as well as Bass Hill, a Sydney suburb.
