MARITIME EXPLORERS 4 FLINDERS, BASS and BAUDIN Flinders and Bass joined the Royal Navy in 1789 at age 15. He arrived in Port Jacksonn in 1795 as midshipman on HMS Reliance. During the voyage, Flinders became friends with the ship’s surgeon, George Bass. Now a young lieutenant, Flinders charted the coast around with Bass in a tiny boat Timor (2.5m) called the Tom Thumb. In 1798, Bass and Flinders sailed a borrowed ship, the , throughugh Matthew Flinders the (named by 1774 ~ 1814 Voyages of Governor Hunter after George Matthew Flinders Bass) proving that Van Diemen’s Land () was an island. In 1800, Flinders returned to England, married, and shortly after was sent back to in command of the Port Cape Leeuwin Jackson Investigator. () His mission was to explore and chart the coastline of Australia. He arrived at Cape Leeuwin on December 6th, 1801 - 1802 1801 and surveyed the southern coast of the continent. 1802 - 1803 Flinders met Nicolas Baudin (see below) on April 8th, 1802 at what was later called Encounter Bay, where they exchanged information about their discoveries. The Investigator arrived in Sydney eearlyarly in MMayay and set sail again (heading north) in July,1802. After surveying the Queensland coast and Gulf of CCarpenteria,arpe Flinders was forced to return to Sydney due to the poor condition of the Investigator. The sshiphip was subsequently condemned. In 1803, George Bass started out from Port Jackson with a plan to transport salt pork to Tahiti and ththen go on to to acquire more provisions he could sell to the colonies at Sydney. Unfortunately ththough, after setting out on this mission, George Bass disappeared and was never seen again. TheT Sad Life of a Great Explorer WhenW Matthew Flinders was sent on his voyage to circumnavigate Australia it was only three monthsm after he was married to Anna Chappelle Flinders.

Anna was forbidden from joining him on his voyage Port Jackson by ththe Admiralty. Sadly, it would be many years (Sydney) befobefore Flinders would see his wife again. On George Bass hhisis rereturn voyage to England the French 1771 ~ 1803 captured and imprisoned him for six and a hhalfalf yyears.e Voyages of FFindersinde died four years after fi nally George Bass rereturningt home to his beloved wife, at ttheh age of only 40. Bass 1797 - 1798

Bass and Flinders 1798 - 1799 Van Diemen’s Land (Tasmania)

Baudin Nicolas Baudin was the fi rst man to chart much of the southern and western New Holland (Australia) coastlines including Van Diemen’s Land. On April 8th, 1802, during his voyage, he encountered Flinders who was also mapping Australia’s coast line. Baudin died of tuberculosis in September 1803 while returning to France. During his many voyages, Baudin collected 2542 plant and animal species that were

ic ph ra Nicolas Baudin previously unknown in Europe. G AS/OHEA04

n 1754 ~ 1803 io t a uc © Graphic Education 2009 Ed