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Flinders and Bungaree - Why did they go?

Matthew Flinders’ voyages were about exploration and discovery. For the British newcomers, many places were unknown, so they needed maps to help them navigate and understand the land and water. Flinders’ instructions from the Admiralty were to explore and chart the coastline and to establish relationships with First Nations Australians.

Read on further to learn more about what the British new about Australia at the end of the 18th century, the important people (and animals) on the voyages, and to discover classroom activities. 

The emerging European map of Australia

By the time Matthew Flinders came to Australia, Dutch explorers had already charted most of the west and north-western coastline. This was already quite a feat! These expeditions happened in the 17th century (1600s), about 150 to 200 years before Flinders’ arrival.

Abel Tasman put the Dutch pieces together to draw the Bonaparte Tasman Map in 1644. He called the giant landmass, New Holland. The eastern coast hadn’t been found by Europeans yet.

In 1770, Captain James Cook was confident that no other European had seen any of Australia’s east coast, from Tolywiarar (Point Hicks) in the Victoria, to Bedanug (Possession Island) in Queensland. So he claimed all of the eastern coast of Australia for the King of England, His Majesty George III. He left Tasmania alone as Abel Tasman had claimed that for the Dutch in 1642.

The British called this place New South Wales. It didn’t have a left side, top or bottom, until 1786. The British then claimed all land to the east of 135° longitude for themselves. This imaginary line divided the continent into two halves.

When Matthew Flinders and Bungaree started their epic voyage, Europeans knew the western side of Australia as New Holland, and the eastern side as New South Wales. 

 

What the British knew about Australia

[icon] The map above shows what Australia looked like when Matthew Flinders arrived in New South Wales in 1795. Compare it to a modern-day map of Australia in your classroom or look at one on Google Maps, to answer the following questions. 

A: Examples include Tasmania is connected to the mainland, the coast of southern Australia was a long, curved line (it hadn’t been charted yet), there are no states.

A: New Holland and New South Wales

A: The Netherlands and Britain 

A: Europeans hadn’t explored this area of Australia when the first map was drawn. It wasn’t until 1798 that Matthew Flinders and George Bass circumnavigated Lutruwita (Tasmania) to prove it was an island.

Important people on the voyages

Small square painting of Bungaree standing front on, wearing a red naval coat and breastplate, holding up a blue and gold bicorn hat. Decorative gold pattern frame painted around the edge.

Helen S Tiernan (2017) Bungaree [oil on canvas] for the Heroes of Colonial Encounters exhibition

© Helen S Tiernan / ANMM collection

Bungaree was a Garigal man of the Kuring-gai nation. This includes the Land and Sea Country north of Port Jackson, across Broken Bay and Brisbane Water, up to Lake Macquarie. The Garigal people lived around Pearl Beach and Patonga, including both sides of the Hawkesbury River from West Head. 

The Garigal community was devastated by an outbreak of smallpox introduced by the British in 1789. Bungaree, born around 1775, lived through this very sad and difficult time as a boy. He was displaced from his Country and migrated south towards Sydney. He spent his life in the widening gulf between the world he grew up in and the hostile new world of the British colony.  

Bungaree met Matthew Flinders in the colony in 1798. This first meeting was aboard HMS Reliance, a ship that delivered supplies from Sydney to the penal settlement at Norfolk Island. They were both young men aged in their twenties. The next year, Bungaree joined Flinders again on a six‑week voyage in the sloop Norfolk. They charted coasts that were unknown to the British, as far north as Moreton Bay and Hervey Bay on Butchella (Badtjala) Country. 

Small square painting of Matthew Flinders with short dark hair, clean‑shaven face and blue eyes, wearing a dark naval uniform with gold trim and shoulder detail, shown from the chest up against a plain background, with a decorative gold pattern painted around the edges

Helen S Tiernan (2017) Matthew Flinders [oil on canvas] for the Heroes of Colonial Encounters exhibition.

© Helen S Tiernan / ANMM Collection

Matthew Flinders was born in 1774 in England.  

He joined the Navy when he was only 16, looking for adventure, a steady income, and fame. He sailed to New South Wales on HMS Reliance in 1795 with Governor John Hunter, along with his younger brother Samuel who was only 12. That’s the same age as someone in year 6! On this voyage, Matthew met the ship’s surgeon, George Bass, who would become his exploration partner, and good friend, in Australia.

After a six-month journey, they arrived in New South Wales. Most of the British population were convicts. Flinders and Bass quickly began exploring nearby waterways like Kamay (Botany Bay) and the Georges River to the south. In 1799, Flinders explored Moreton and Hervey Bay on Butchulla Country. He searched for rivers (without luck) that flowed to Australia’s unknown interior, with his brother Samuel, Bungaree, and his cat Trim.

You might see Flinders called a Lieutenannt, Commander or Captain. That’s because his rank changed during his career. He was a Lieutenannt until he returned to Sydney in 1802 on HMS Investigator. He became Commander on his circumnavigation of Australia. Then he was Captain after his return to England.

Read on further to learn more about his famous voyages in Australia! 

Trim was Flinders’ much-loved cat and a cheerful little companion on his Australian voyages. Trim was born in 1799 aboard HMS Reliance in the Southern Indian Ocean. Flinders admired his furry friend describing him as:

“One of the finest animals I ever saw … [his] robe was a clear jet black, the exception of his four feet, which seemed to have been dipped in snow, and his under-lip, which Trim rivaled them in whiteness. He also a white star on his breast, and it seemed as if nature designed him for the prince and model of his race.”

Illustration of Trim the cat, a small black-and-white ship’s cat with large yellow eyes. The cat has a black coat with a white chest, white muzzle and white paws, and sits upright with a long curved tail

Trim was no ordinary cat. He once tumbled into the sea and learned to swim, curled up to sleep with Flinders each night, and apparently had fine table manners. He brought comfort and a little bit of mischief to life at sea. 

There were 88 people aboard HMS Investigator when it left England in 1801. This included Commander Matthew Flinders, educated gentlemen such as scientists and artists, doctors to look after the sick and injured, military men (marines) for defence, and crew to sail the ship. 

[icon] Look at the list (complement) of people on HMS Investigator. 

Some examples are:

  • William Westall the landscape painter. There were no cameras so things had to be drawn or painted. You can see etchings of some of Westall’s paintings in the ‘Where did they go?’ chapter.
  • Robert Brown the naturalist. Mr Brown was a botanist and was responsible for collecting and recording plant and animal specimens on the voyage. His assistant was Peter Good, a gardener from the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens.
  • John Allen the miner was a mineralogist. Mineralogists study rock, gems and minerals.
  • Hugh Bell was the surgeon. He was responsible for the medical care of the crew. This included treating injuries, sickness and helping to maintain good health on the voyage.
  • Russel Mart the carpenter. Most of HMS Investigator was made out of wood. Mr Mart maintained and repaired the vessel.