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Matthew Flinders

Commander of the 1801 expedition to circumnavigate Terra Australis

Flinders first sailed to Terra Australis Incognito in 1795 aboard the HMS Reliance under Captain Henry Waterhouse, exploring coastal and inland New South Wales. Promoted to lieutenant, from 1798 to 1799 he circumnavigated Van Diemen’s Land and the Queensland coast.

In 1801 he was selected to command the HMS Investigator for an expedition surveying the ‘Unknown Coast’ of southern Terra Australis. Finally returning to England in October 1810 after an eventful journey and long imprisonment in Mauritius, he spent his last days writing the epic journal A Voyage to Terra Australis. Captain Flinders is recognised for his impressive accomplishments as a navigator and for advancing scientific knowledge of tides and maritime use of the compass and barometer.

Age on departure from Spithead: 27
Died in London on 19 July 1814 from kidney disease

Captain Matthew Flinders, R.N.—portrait
National Library of Australia—136043658