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Matthew Flinders: Personal Letters from an Extraordinary Life
A representative selection of over one hundred of Flinders' letters, including many relating to his great circumnavigation of Australia, as well as his time on Mauritius where he was held by the French for over six years.
262 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2002
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About the author
Matthew Flinders
26 books4 followers(For the 21st century political writer, see Matthew^^Flinders)
Captain Matthew Flinders RN was a distinguished navigator and cartographer, who was the first to circumnavigate Australia and identify it as a continent.
Captain Matthew Flinders RN was a distinguished navigator and cartographer, who was the first to circumnavigate Australia and identify it as a continent.
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June 6, 2019
The extract below is from a Google description of the book but it is very accurate. I was interested in looking further into the faith of the man ultimately responsible for suggesting the name "Australia". Small flickers of Flinders' personal faith show through in his private letters to his wife and friends; nothing is evident, as might be expected, in more official correspondence. Towards the end of his life he makes an interesting comment on a sermon about the Holy Spirit - it would seem during that era it was not the "Holy Ghost" but a name seemingly more modern.
"The letters written in Mauritius are published here for the first time, and cover a tragic, though little known, period in his life. Also of particular poignancy are the letters written by Flinders to his beloved wife Ann. After only three months of marriage, Flinders sailed for Australia, and the couple were not to meet again for nine years. Of great significance is the audacious letter written by a young Flinders to the "Father of Australia" Sir Joseph Banks, where Flinders volunteers himself for the formidable task of completing the discovery of New Holland. This was, as Paul Brunton writes, 'one of those letters which change history'. Another highlight of the collection is a substantial letter from Flinders to George Bass which throws new light on their intimate relationship. This important and revealing document has not previously been available for study, and it is published here in its entirety for the first time. A keen correspondent, Flinders' letters provide a remarkable insight into his character, and present a picture of a complex yet engaging eighteenth-century man of sensibility and taste. The Mitchell Library is justly famous for its exceptional holdings of original Flinders material. In addition, material for this book has been drawn from other repositories, including the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich; the Lincolnshire Archives Office; and the British Library."
"The letters written in Mauritius are published here for the first time, and cover a tragic, though little known, period in his life. Also of particular poignancy are the letters written by Flinders to his beloved wife Ann. After only three months of marriage, Flinders sailed for Australia, and the couple were not to meet again for nine years. Of great significance is the audacious letter written by a young Flinders to the "Father of Australia" Sir Joseph Banks, where Flinders volunteers himself for the formidable task of completing the discovery of New Holland. This was, as Paul Brunton writes, 'one of those letters which change history'. Another highlight of the collection is a substantial letter from Flinders to George Bass which throws new light on their intimate relationship. This important and revealing document has not previously been available for study, and it is published here in its entirety for the first time. A keen correspondent, Flinders' letters provide a remarkable insight into his character, and present a picture of a complex yet engaging eighteenth-century man of sensibility and taste. The Mitchell Library is justly famous for its exceptional holdings of original Flinders material. In addition, material for this book has been drawn from other repositories, including the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich; the Lincolnshire Archives Office; and the British Library."
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