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Matthew
Flinders statue in Donington
Market Place with some of his descendants
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Matthew
Flinders was born in Donington on 16th March 1774, the eldest
child of the local doctor. He was expected to follow in the
footsteps of his father but instead he chose a maritime life
and joined the Royal Navy at 15½ years old. As a midshipman
he sailed to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time with
Captain William Bligh to Tahiti. On his return he took part
in his only major naval action off Brest in 1794.
The
Following year Flinders sailed again to the Southern hemisphere
in HMS Reliance taking the Second Governor, Captain John Hunter,
to the infant penal colony of New South Wales at Port Jackson.
He was promoted to Acting Lieutenant on this voyage. At Port
Jackson he was able to show his skill in exploration by sailing
in tiny vessels to examine the coastline south of the colony
with Surgeon George Bass. Further exploration in HMS Norfolk
established Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania) as an island,
which gave a new sea passage, the Bass Straits.
On
return to Britain in1800 Flinders wrote to Sir Joseph Banks
(who was also from Lincolnshire), the leading scientist of
the day, suggesting an expedition to complete the charting
of the coastline of Terra Australis (Australia). In 1801 he
was appointed by the Admiralty to command a scientific expedition
in HMS Investigator. During the preparations Flinders married
Anne Chappell of Partney, hoping to take her with him. During
1802 and 1803 Flinders led the expedition in a first circumnavigation
of the whole continent, despite the Investigator proving unseaworthy.
He decided to return to Britain to obtain another vessels
but was shipwrecked in HMS Porpoise. He set out again in the
tiny 29 to vessel Cumberland but was forced to put into Ile
de France (Mauritius). France and Britain were again at war
and he was detained as a spy. He was held on Ile de France
for over 6 years.
In
1810 Flinders was back in Britain after 9½ years away,
but in poor health, and the remaining 4 years of his life
was spent in writing an account of the voyage, completing
the charts and on scientific work concerning compass deviation.
The publication of his ‘Voyage to Terra Australis’
took place days before his death. Flinders indicates he would
have preferred to have called the continent ‘Australia’.
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