Flinders and Bungaree - Where did they go?Flinders and Bungaree - Where did they go? 

September 1798

 Matthew Flinders (1798 - 1799) Chart of Van Diemen's Land, commissioned by United Kingdom Hydrographic Office.

ANMM Collection

In September 1798, Commander Matthew Flinders, his best friend George Bass, and a crew of eight men sailed out of Port Jackson in the sloop Norfolk. They headed south to solve a mystery that still puzzled Europeans. Was Lutruwita an island, or was it connected to the Australian mainland? They were given 12 weeks to complete the voyage.

A sloop is a sailing boat with a sail connected to the front and back of a single mast (the vertical pole that a sail attaches to on a boat). The Norfolk was built on Norfolk Island and was about 10 metres long. Imagine sailing through the high seas of Bass Strait on such a small boat!

The voyage was a success. They drew the first European map of the island and were only 11 days late! Flinders recommended that the stretch of water between Tasmania and the mainland be called Bass’ Strait, in honour of his friend. 

July-December 1801

Matthew Flinders needed a new ship to complete the circumnavigation of Australia. He sailed back to England on HMS Reliance and arrived at the end of 1800. Bungaree didn’t go with him.

Sir Joseph Banks, the first Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty, and His Majesty King George III, approved Flinders’ plan to explore the coast of Terra Australis. The  aim of the voyage was to complete the charting of Australia and to investigate the plants, animals and minerals of the unexplored continent.

Flinders was appointed as commander of HMS Investigator. There were 88 people on board when the ship left Portsmouth on the 18th of July in 1801.

You can’t sail a ship on an empty stomach! The ship was loaded with a 12 month supply of general provisions, including barrels of water, bread, flour, malt, biscuits, salted meat and grog. Flinders also asked the Admiralty to send a 12-month supply of provisions after him for use in Port Jackson.

There was a chance of being attacked on the voyage. Guns, twelve 6-pounder cannons, carronades (short range canon), ammunition, and a chest of fireworks were packed.

It’s hard to get good medical treatment on the high seas. The surgeon was given a big supply of antiscorbutic medicines to treat scurvy, while sauerkraut and vinegar were used as antiseptic to kill germs.  

Flinders stocked the ship’s cabin with maps and books about the south seas and lands. These included the Encyclopedia Brittanica and every chart that the Admiralty had about Terra Australis and its neighbouring Islands. The maps, along with a set of astronomical and surveying instruments, were important for accurate navigation. 

December 1801

Matthew Flinders saw the Australian mainland at Cape Leeuwin, on the south-western tip of Western Australia, in December 1801. The trip from England, via South Africa, took nearly 5 months.  

The Investigator sailed along the south coast. Flinders drew charts of the coastline as they explored bays, often in small boats, and did day trips on the mainland. They looked for freshwater and wood, collected specimens, made illustrations and met First Nations Australians.

Menang Kort, or King George Sound, was the first main stop. This was the first meeting with First Nations Australians on the voyage – the Menang people of the Noongar Nation. Flinders and his men initially met men with poised spears who waved their arms to ‘go away’. He soon set up a camp with tents which was guarded by marines. The local people cautiously visited many times during the nearly one month stay in the region. Things such as iron, toys and mirrors were traded for implements. Flinders put on a military display with men in red coats and white-crossed belt uniforms for entertainment. There was a drum, a man blowing a fife and the firing of guns. Flinders said the Menang enjoyed the display, screaming with delight, clapping their hands, and copying the actions of the marines.  

View from the South Side of King George’s Sound. An engraving from a painting by William Westall, prepared for plates in Matthew Flinders, A Voyage to Terra Australis, volume 1, 1814.

ANMM Collection

January 1802

As he charted the coast, Flinders often climbed to the top of the mast with a telescope to look for land. He finished a rough chart of his work every day, and recorded astronomical observations and bearing measurements, before he went to bed. He was very diligent!

The Bunda Cliffs in the Great Australian Bight were a spectacular scene! But Flinders was frustrated because he couldn’t see over the top of them.

Flinders often saw columns of smoke rising into the sky along the coastline. We don’t know for sure, but it’s possible the First Nations people were using smoke to tell other communities along the coastline about the arrival of the tallship.

The naturalists on board were always busy too. There were animals and plants to observe, collect and record. They saw jellyfish, footprints of dogs and large birds in the beach sand, great flocks of sooty petrels, red-furred seals, seahorses  and sharks. They fished and caught seals and large sharks along the way for food.  

Matthew Flinders, Views on the South Coast of Terra Australis

Australian National Maritime Museum Collection

February - March 1802

Eight men drowned when their cutter (small boat) sank at dusk after a trip to the shore. It had been caught in a strong current. Flinders searched in vain for his companions but was unable to find them. A copper plate with an inscription was left at Memory Cove in South Australia. Flinders named the islands in the area after the crew who died here.

HMS Investigator landed at Karta Pintingga (Kangaroo Island) where the crew shot lots of kangaroos. This was the first fresh food in 4 months. The men enjoyed kangaroo stew and steaks, and made hats out of the fur. 

View on the north side of Kangaroo Island. An engraving from a painting by William Westall, prepared for plates in Matthew Flinders, A Voyage to Terra Australis, volume 1, 1814.

ANMM Collection

April 1802

Flinders spotted a white sail in the distance in South Australia, at a place that he would later name Encounter Bay. It was a tallship coming the other way. It displayed its French flag, while Flinders displayed the Union Jack and white flag. The ship was Le Géographe, which was part of the French expedition that was also exploring Australia. Flinders paddled to it in a rowboat with Mr Brown, who could speak French, and went onboard to meet the captain Nicolas Baudin. This was something of a comical encounter, as Baudin was critical of Flinders’ chart of Tasmania, but didn’t initially realise he was speaking to Flinders himself! 

A painting of HMS Investigator and Le Géographe meeting at Encounter Bay 8th April 1802

© Ian Hensen / ANMM Collection

July 1802

HMS Investigator arrived in Warrane (Sydney Cove), just under 10 months after leaving England. The surviving crew were in good health and spirits. Other ships in Warrane at the time were His Majesty’s armed vessel Porpoise, the Speedy, the Margaret privateer and the French ship Le Naturaliste. HMS Investigator was restocked with food (fresh meat and vegetables, soft bread, sheep, pigs, geese, chickens, corn, biscuits, flour, wheat), rum, a new boat, and new crew to replace the men that died at Cape Catastrophe. This included Bungaree, Nanbaree, nine seamen and five convicts.

In the morning of 22 July 1802, after a 2 month stopover, HMS Investigator left Port Jackson with the support ship Lady Nelson. Flinders and Bungaree were on board Investigator, and Lieutenant John Murray and Nanbaree, the Lady Nelson. It was a big journey ahead to circumnavigate and chart the coastline of Australia. Flinders’ faithful companion Trim the cat was also on board. His fur was turning a bit grey but Flinders described Trim as ‘fat and frisky’! Bungaree was of great help to Flinders. He helped to establish meetings with people along the coast and warned of possible dangerous interactions, even though he couldn’t speak the languages himself. 

July 1802

The first meeting between First Nations Australians and Flinders on the circumnavigation was at Sandy Cape (Hervey Bay) on the northern tip of K’gari (formerly known as Fraser Island). A group of Badtjala (Butchella) men waved as if to say ‘go away’. To ease the tension, Bungaree took off his clothes and laid down his spear in a gesture of peace. A group of 20 Butchella men eventually approached and shared a feast of porpoise (dolphin) with Flinders and his party of men. Flinders gave hatchets and red caps as gifts and his naturalists took scoop nets away with them. Flinders noted that most of the Butchella men had a hard lump on the outer knuckle of the wrist. He believed this was a signature of their fishing life, possibly caused by the repeated casting of fishing nets.  

October 1802

This was a dangerous passage through the reef along the Queensland coast. Flinders always felt like he was surrounded by reef and worried about hitting it and sinking. His whale boat travelled in front to spot signs of danger. Flinders constantly changed direction to find a way through the maze of coral. The shadows from clouds looked like reefs below the water, and the tides were violent and made it hard to control the ship. Lady Nelson was damaged in shallow waters and was sent back to Port Jackson with Nanbaree, who also wished to return home. HMS Investigator carried on alone. Flinders spent 2 weeks sailing through the reef and was lucky to make it through without serious damage. Thunder and lightning arrived with sudden changes in wind. As feared, the north-west monsoon was approaching! 

October 1802

Flinders was cautious as the people from Mer approached his ship in outrigger canoes. His marines were armed and on guard because of previous conflicts he’d heard about in this region. His aim was to secure friendship for the peaceful passage of ships in the future. The people of Mer visited HMS Investigator in canoes over a couple of days. One day, just after sunrise, Flinders was visited by seven canoes with 10-20 men in each one and 15-20 men climbed on board the ship. They carried bows and quivers of arrows with them. They were especially interested in bartering their goods for iron, or ‘tooree’. Flinders exchanged hatchets and nails for pearl oyster shells, necklaces of cowrie, bows and arrows, coconuts and bamboo stems filled with fresh water. 

William Westall - Artist, John Pye - Engraver (1814) View of Murray's Islands with the natives offering to barter, October 1802, for Flinders' 'Voyage to Terra Australis'.

ANMM collection

November 1802 - January 1803

In northern Australia, the monsoon was beginning. Heavy rain, thunder and lightning made the voyage difficult. Flinders even complained about fierce green ants and endless flies!

As Flinders mapped the Gulf of Carpentaria, he passed Cape Keerweer, where Dutch explorer Willem Janszoon had sailed almost 200 years earlier. He also met three Aboriginal men travelling on a raft made from mangrove branches. The ship’s carpenter found serious rot in the hull, which is the bottom of the ship that sits on the water. The diagnosis was not good; Investigator might stay afloat for only another three to six months, so Flinders could not finish charting the coast as planned. 

William Westall - Artist, John Pye - Engraver (1814) View in Sir Edward Pellew's Group - Gulph of Carpentaria for Flinders' 'Voyage to Terra Australis'

ANMM Collection

On Morgan’s Island in Blue Mud Bay in north-eastern Arnhem Land, there was a tragic clash between some of Flinders’ crew and Yolgnu men. Mr Whitewood was speared several times when he reached for a spear which he thought was an offering. He survived but three Yolgnu men were chased by Flinders’ men and a Yolgnu man was shot and killed. The start of this conflict was believed to have been the result of a cultural misunderstanding.

Later, Flinders’ party met another group of Yolgnu teenagers and men. Flinders held a teenage boy, named Woga, hostage for several days in retaliation for the theft of the crew’s tools. Flinders eventually released the boy, as he became very distressed, and recognised this would damage future relationships with the community.

February 1803

Flinders discovered signs of Asian visitors along the coast, such as pieces of bamboo, clay jugs, Chinese looking hats and blue trousers. Then the clues led to a discovery! Off the coast of north-east Arnhem Land they sighted six boats from Macassar who were on a regular visit to catch trepang (sea cucumber). Flinders’ cook was Malay and was able to talk to them. Flinders met Pobasso, the chief of the voyage. It turned out they were part of a fleet of 60 vessels that carried about 1000 men. Salloo was the commander-in-chief. They would dive to catch the trepang. The animals were then split down one side, boiled, pressed with the weight of stones, stretched open by slips of bamboo, dried in the sun, smoked, then put in bags. They were taken back and traded with people in China.

Flinders noted that the Macassans only carried small Dutch compasses to navigate and had no maps. They carried water in the joints of bamboo for hydration on their voyage.  

William Westall - Artist, John Pye - Engraver (1814) View of Malay Road from Pobassoo's Island, February 1803 [engraving on paper] for Flinders' 'Voyage to Terra Australis'. 

ANMM Collection

February – June 1803

There was bad weather and heavy rain along the north coast of Australia. Many of the crew were getting sick from scurvy or dysentery and Flinders was also getting sores on his feet. HMS Investigator sailed to the Dutch colony of Coupang (Kupang) on Timor to restock with supplies before continuing to Port Jackson. Six seamen died during the next two months and many got sick. Four more men died on Garden Island after they arrived in Port Jackson.  

William Westall - Artist, John Pye - Engraver (1814) View of Malay Road from Pobassoo's Island, February 1803 [engraving on paper] for Flinders' 'Voyage to Terra Australis'. 

ANMM Collection