Saturday, April 25, 2015
ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA
FLINDERS, MATTHEW (1774- 1814)- english navigator, explorer, = man of science. b donington, lincolnshire. 1st destined to be a surgeon like father, but his enthusiasm in favor of a life of adventure(ISIS wanna-bes) impelled him to join the royal navy 1789. after a voyage to the friendly islands + west indies, after serving in the "bellephom" during howe's glorious 1st of june, 1794 off ushant , fl went out in 1795 as midshipman in the "reliance" to new south wales. for the next few years he devoted himself to accurately laying down the outline + bearings of the australian coast, + he did work so thoroughly that he left little for his successors to do. w/his friend george bass, the surgeon of the "reliance" in the yr of his arrival explored george's river; + after a voyage to norfalk island in 3/1796, the 2 friends in the same boat, the "tom thumb" only 8 ft long + w/ only a boy to help, explored the coast to s of pt jackson. after a voyage to the cape of good hope, when he was promoted to lieutenant + fl was engaged 2/1798 in the survey of the furneaux islands, n of tasmania. 9/1799, delighted w/ being commissioned w/ bass, who had explored the sea between tasmania + some south coast to say it was a straight, to sail the sloop "norfolk" to prove that van die mans land was an island by going around it . in the same sloop, summer of 1788, fl explored to the n of port jackson, surveying glasshouse bay(moreton bay) + hervey's bay. returning to england, he was appointed to command an expedition for thorough exploration of the terra australis coast, tho fl is said to have been the 1st to suggest the name australia. on 7/1801 the sloop "investigator" in which the expedition sailed left spithead, fl furnished w/ instructions + with a passport from the french govt to their officials in the eastern seas explore explore blah blah 1807 fl prisoner in Mauritius 1814 fl published his narrative. french foo foo great barrier reef. explore explore "investigator" leaky. disease. fl scurvy. going home on "porpoise" as passenger w/ other ships. it reefs. destroyed. officers + men camped on sand back w/ provisions w/ papers. fl returned to port jackson in a 6 oar cutter to get rescue. left again on the "cumberland" landed in mauritius when leared eng + france at war. papers seized. reached eng 10/1810. no promotion(red tape). wrote of his exploration w/ maps. day they were published, he died at 40.
