author
Matthew Flinders
1774–1814
Best known for charting much of Australia’s coastline, this determined naval explorer combined seamanship, science, and careful observation in ways that shaped how the continent was understood. His voyages were adventurous, but his lasting legacy is the precision of the maps he left behind.
2 Audiobooks
About the author
Born in Donington, Lincolnshire, on March 16, 1774, he joined the Royal Navy as a teenager after becoming fascinated by life at sea. He went on to build a reputation as a skilled navigator, hydrographer, and cartographer.
He is most closely associated with the exploration of Australia. Working first with George Bass and later on his own major expedition, he surveyed large stretches of coastline and completed the first inshore circumnavigation of the mainland then known as New Holland. His charts were admired for their accuracy, and he helped popularize the name "Australia."
His career was marked by both achievement and hardship. On his return voyage to Britain he was detained for years on Mauritius after war broke out between Britain and France, and his health never fully recovered. He died in London on July 19, 1814, not long after his great account of exploration, A Voyage to Terra Australis, was published.