Guide to the Papers of Captain Matthew Flinders (as filmed by the AJCP), 1779-1912

Summary

Collection number:

M444, M3033 - M3037

Creator:

Flinders, Matthew, Captain

Extent:

78 items

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234).

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference.

Background

Content Summary:

Includes:

Selections from Admiralty 1 and 7 in the Public Record Office relating to Matthew Flinders (Adm. 1/177, 1200, 1800, 1803-1804, 1806-1809, 2020-2021, 3762-3763, 4379, 4382, 4689 and Adm. 7/707-8).

Correspondence between Flinders and the Admiralty re the Investigator, his exploration of the coast of Australia and his time on Mauritius; miscellaneous correspondence 1797-1814. Correspondents include Sir Joseph Banks and Thomi Pitot; correspondence between the Admiralty and the French Government concerning Flinders; despatches from Governor King; official correspondence re the release of Flinders from Mauritius and the recovery of his journal; and three letters written by Sir Joseph Banks 1806 re botanical and mineral specimens collected by Joseph Brown and the sketches of Ferdinand Bauer.Also includes journals and narratives 1791-1810 including journals kept on HMS Providence (c.1791) and HMS Bellerophon (1793-1794), narratives of voyages on HMS Tom thumb (1795-1796) and Investigator (1814).

Manuscript, printed charts, drawings and prints 1792-1812 including chart of the passage between New Holland ad New Guinea as seen from HMS Providence in 1792, and charts published by Alexander Dalrymple and A. Arrowsmith. Also included are two copies of Flinders unpublished manuscript A narrative of the causes that prevented His Majesty's ship the Investigator from completing the examination and discovery of the Coasts of Australia..., July 1806", 332, lxxiv.

Letters sent to Mrs Flinders by Sir Joseph Banks, Sir John Franklin and Thomi Pitot.

Papers 1800-1912 of Sir Willliam Flinders Petrie concerning the life of his grandfather.

Biographical / Historical:

Matthew Flinders (1774-1814) was born in Donington, Lincolnshire. He entered the Royal Navy in 1789 and in 1791 made his first visit to the Pacific, serving as a midshipman on HMS Providence under William Bligh. In 1795 he sailed to New South Wales on HMS Reliance and, with George Bass, explored the coast south of Sydney. In 1798-1799 he and Bass explored Bass Strait and made the first circumnavigation of Van Diemen's Land. He returned to England in 1800.

In 1801 Flinders was promoted to the rank of commander and given command of a sloop, HMS Investigator . He received orders from the Admiralty to explore the unknown southern coast of Australia. He reached Cape Leeuwin in December 1801 and sailing eastwards he charted the Great Australia Bight, Spencer's Gulf, St Vincent's Gulf, Kangaroo Island, and Encounter Bay, where he met the French explorer Nicolas Baudin. He explored Port Phillip Bay before reaching Sydney in May 1802. In July 1802 Flinders resumed the survey, sailing north to Cape York and the Gulf of Carpentaria. He found that the Investigator was in a very poor state and was forced to abandon the survey, but he was able to return by way of the western coast and thereby complete the circumnavigation of Australia. He reached Sydney in June 1803.

In August 1803 Flinders sailed as a passenger on HMS Porpoise, but the ship was wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef. He sailed the ship's cutter back to Port Jackson and organised the rescue of the stranded crew. Intending to return to England, he took command of the Cumberland. The ship, however, leaked badly and in December 1803 he sought assistance at the Isle de France (Mauritius). Instead of assistance, the governor, General De Caen, treated him as a spy and Flinders remained a virtual prisoner on the island for six years. He finally reached England in October 1810 and was promoted to post captain. In failing health, he worked on A Voyage to Terra Australis, which was published the day before his death.

Related

Existence and Location of Copies:

The original AJCP microfilm of the records filmed from this collection is available at the National Library of Australia[https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn8032452] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.

Existence and Location of Originals:

The National Archives United Kingdom: Public Record Office. Kew, Richmond and Surrey.Collection Reference: ADM 1 and ADM 7.

For further information see The National Archives of the UK. [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/h/C706]

National Maritime Museum. Romney Road, Greenwich.Collection Reference:NMM. Section 4 FLI

For Further information see Matthew Flinders at the National Maritime Museum. [https://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/500412.html]

Conditions Governing Access:

Available for access.

Conditions Governing Use:

Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234).

Location of this collection:

National Library of Australia

Parkes Place

Canberra ACT 2600, Australia

Contact:

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