Flinders: The Man who Mapped Australia

by Rob Mundle

The exciting story of Matthew Flinders the man who named Australia and the first to chart its coastline.

Matthew Flinders is a towering figure in Australian history; the first to chart our coastline and the leading champion for naming the country Australia. In 1801 he was made commander of the expedition of his life, the first close circumnavigation of Terra Australis.

Famous for his meticulous charts and superb navigational skills, Flinders was a bloody good sailor. He battled treacherous conditions in a boat hardly seaworthy, faced the loss of a number of his crewmen and, following a shipwreck on a reef off the Queensland coast, navigated the ship's cutter over 1000 kilometres back to Sydney to get help.

Rob Mundle brings Matthew Flinders fascinating story to life from the heroism and drama of shipwreck, imprisonment and long voyages in appalling conditions, to the heartbreak of being separated from his beloved wife for most of their married life.

This is a gripping adventure biography, in the style of BLIGH: MASTER MARINER.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Australia, Biography, Maritime

400 pages, Hardcover

First published October 30, 2012

About the author

Rob Mundle is the author of the highly acclaimed international bestseller Fatal Storm. He has written six other books, including the bestselling Sir James Hardy: An Adventurous Life, Alan Bond’s authorised biography,Bond, and Life at the Extreme, the official record of the 2005/2006 Volvo Ocean Race round the world. He lives in Main Beach, Queensland.

Reviews

[James Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

According to Rob Mundle, the author of “Flinders: The Man Who Mapped Australia”, there were three great navigators in the age of exploration: James Cook, William Bligh, and Matthew Flinders. When one considers how vast the Pacific Ocean is, and remembers how small the ships of the day were, it is hard to disagree. Everyone knows Cook and Bligh. But outside of Australia, not many remember Matthew Flinders. Perhaps we remember dramatic episodes from Cook’s and Bligh’s lives because of their place in popular culture. Where are the movies about Flinders? Flinders’ life was equally dramatic, but he died young and is largely forgotten today. He not only made the first maps of Australia and Tasmania, at great personal risk, but it was he who came up with the name “Australia” in the first place.

Mundle is himself a sailor. So it is no surprise that the book swims in nautical terminology. Mundle includes a very useful glossary to make our journey a little easier. As a lover of language, I enjoyed (and still enjoy) reading through this glossary, seeing familiar words cheek by jowl with alien ones. Here we learn what “baffling winds” are, which should be in all our lexicons these days. And here is the keelson, which you might appreciate as the offing from your clinker gets to be a little too close. This is a handy reference for Talk Like a Pirate Day (19 September in 2021).

The story opens on the aptly named “Wreck Reefs”, at the southern end of the also aptly named “Great Barrier Reefs”. Flinders and the crew of the Porpoise have been cast ashore onto a sand bank in literally uncharted waters, far from home base in Sydney Harbor, and so far from home that they might have been on another planet. This episode is every bit as epic as Bligh’s odyssey after he was set adrift by mutineers on the Bounty. The crew watch as a storm shreds their sister ship, the Cato, plank by plank and spar by spar. Unknown to them, the third ship in the group, the Bridgewater survived storm and wreck, but abandoned them after a criminally cursory search. It is up to Flinders to take their small lifeboat, which has been battered and nearly destroyed, to discover a place with fresh water and food where the survivors can wait for a rescue mission, which might never be sent and, if sent, might never find them. Flinders’ leadership, ingenuity, courage, and determination eventually save the survivors. This should be the big budget dramatic opening of “Flinders, the Movie”, should it ever be made.

Mundle then takes us back to Flinders’ childhood. Flinders was precocious, fond of math and navigation. From his boyhood he was determined to explore places where no westerner had ever been. His compulsion to adventure is palpable. Eventually he is noticed by the eminent Sir Joseph Banks and finds himself sailing with the famous Captain Bligh to the South Pacific, aboard the Providence. After returning to England, at age 19, with high recommendations from Bligh, Flinders sails as a personal assistant to the captain on the warship Bellerophon against France.

These are just the opening chapters. The majority of the books, as the title promises, about Flinders’ exploration of Australia. These adventures are diverse and thrilling. I can’t pick just one or two to highlight here.

I mention the ships by name because they are, in themselves, important characters in the story. Some are large, but old, rotten, and poorly designed. Others are small, even tiny, but agile and sturdy. Some are fast, good for warfare. Others are ponderous, which can be a good thing in bad weather. Some are indifferent, wooden one might say. Some are intimate. And through them all, Flinders’ constant companion is his self-assured and sassy cat, Trim, himself an unforgettable character.

Rather than skip through the entire book, and through Flinder’s whole life, suffice it to say that he overcomes barely seaworthy ships, scarcely survivable storms, attacks from the aboriginals, and a prolonged incarceration by the French. He maps not only the often treacherous coast of Tasmania, but the entire circumference of Australia. He often mans very small boats, so as to get more details about the coastlines.

Read this book as an adventure tale, or as a history, or as a deep dive into a fascinating and inspiring character. Read it to feel the age of exploration. But do read it.

[Chris Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

Akin to a book Peter FitzSimons writes about a second-tier bushranger in colonial NSW or some horse that performed battlefield heroics in the Great War, ‘Flinders: The man who mapped Australia’, is a cross-field kick aimed directly at the idle mind of your typical Australian dad guy. I was happy to oblige, catching it on the full.

The book was informative and engaging. These being themes consistent with the previous accounts Mundle has written.

Each book of his I read I am convinced this will be the one where his, by-design, focus on the maritime granularities of the chapters of history, rather than the broader narratives, will finally see my attention ‘run aground’. It proved not so. I read through it ‘at full sail’.

My tortured and unnecessary metaphors aside, well done Rob on another good book.

[Thomas Isern · Rating 3 out of 5]

A serviceable book, with points of interest, not a full biography. What I mean is, Mundle never comes to grips with the man, Flinders. He recounts what the explorer does, but provides no insights as to the character of the man. Mundle is a journalist and a sailor. He brings a definite expertise, as well as a specialized vocabulary, to the enterprise, which is to be credited. Annotation is lacking, and research does not appear deep. If you are interested in the history of Australia, Rundle's Flinders fills a narrative gap. But just as Rundle never quite engages Flinders, his Flinders never quite engages the Australian continent. Both are concerned mainly with the sea. One interesting theme that emerges is just how slapdash the outfitting of the Flinders expeditions was. He sailed in shoddy craft indeed. It took persistence and ingenuity to accomplish what he did with such faulty resources.

[Dmitri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book presents an unique opportunity to find out about great explorer and interesting man, who I believe was overshadowed by his more acclaimed colleagues for far too long. James Cook, George Vancouver, Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus (you can carry on with names as long as you wish), are sort of celebrities in a history of exploration and discovery. They definitely deserve to be remembered for what they've done. But how often names like Flinders, Bass, Bligh and many other are unfairly forgotten and their achievements and contribution to the dangerous business of discovery and exploration are nor recognized in a way they probably should be. Life of Mathew Flinders as it presented in the book is a perfect example of how courage, determination and following you dream could overcame any obstacles and waste emptiness of hardly known oceans. Great book which memory of this splendid man well deserve.

[Lewis Woolston · Rating 3 out of 5]

The town i live in has a statue of Matthew Flinders and his cat Trim. It's on the foreshore near the ice cream shop. My daughter, like a lot of the local kids, thinks it's funny to pretend the cat is alive and pat its little bronze head. I guess that's hilarious when you're four years old.
Overall this is a good book, very informative and filled in all the details i didn't know about Flinders and his famous journeys. Perhaps a little dry in parts or maybe i just wasn't in the mood at times.
On the whole a good book and worth reading if you have any interest in Flinders and Australian history.

[Luke Watts · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book certainly gave excellent insight into the dedication of Flinders to his task. Mundle certainly loves sailing and all things maritime, his attention to detail in regard to ships and water does get a tiresome at points! On finishing this title it felt like I knew the ships that Flinders sailed better than I knew the man. It’s only in the last couple of chapters that there is more personal detail and expression, which all comes to end very quickly. The authors thoroughness is an asset the majority of the time and did enjoy the book overall.

[Jack Sprat · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authorative book on Matthew Flinders and his epic career. Another brilliant work by Rob Mundle.

[K.V. Martins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy Rob Mundle's writing - he brings good energy and a tremendous amount of historical detail to his non-fiction. Matthew Flinders is known to generations of Australians, but not so much beyond - this book goes a long way towards honouring the explorations and discoveries of Flinders, who was the first person to definitively chart the Australian coastline.

[Jeffrey Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very dramatic story line. Good account of Flinder's background, his experience with Cook and Bligh. Lots of detail of caring for ship, crew and problems with navigation. Altogether a strong, well written and researched book.

[Clarissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well written, easily read book on one of the greatest explorers in history. Matthew Flinders has always been my favourite explorer, being the first to circumnavigate around Australia & doing it with his companion Trim, so I was excited to see this book & it didn't disappoint.

[Louise M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flinders, The Man Who Mapped Australia by Rob Mundle should be in every home in Australia, and probably further afield too. I loved it. Like every schoolchild of my era, I learned about the British explorers who developed written records about Australia. Then I learned about those of other cultures and countries who visited, mapped, and recorded information about this place. I doubt I truly understood the difficulties and hardships these brave people faced. Mundle brings the life and times of Matthew Flinders to life. The incredible range of skills and the courage to venture into the unknown that characterised Flinders and his ilk are well described in this book. Of course I knew that Bass and Flinders sailed into and explored Bass Strait, but until this book I had no idea just how difficult this was. Flinders was an exceptional person, a quiet achiever, a fearless navigator, and a careful cartographer. Mundle brings the danger, the determination, and the courage of Matthew Flinders into the reader's world with clarity. This book is wonderful.

[Mark Booth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book although I found that some parts of his life seemed to be gone through very quickly - for example his capture by the French and the last years of his life in London. I would have liked to know more about these times and a bit more about the man rather than just what he did. Having said that a good and interesting read.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A most enjoyable, interesting and informative read.
Matthew Flinders - a highly under-rated but great explorer.
As always, Rob Mundle presents a thoroughly engaging account of the amazing life and meticulous work of Flinders.
I can highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about the early navigation and charting of Australia, or simply wanting an enjoyable read.

[Bruce M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than his Cook biography, you really get the sense the author admires the young Flinders going about in Tom Thumb. I was also surprised at how little I knew about the discovery and founding of certain areas of Aus. Flidners certainly did a lot in his time on this earth, and its nicely documented here, with nice details on what life might have been like aboard ship.

[Benjamin Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice and concise biography of Matthew Flinders and George Bass to an extent as well. Read this before Grantlee Kieza published their Flinders bio, which I would have been otherwise ecstatic to pick up, but this does the job quite nicely.

[Ion Byrnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

History brought to life

A wonderful read that gives a great insight to truly great contributor to Australian history revealing his trials and determination

[Rod M · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched and gripping yarn of Australia's naval history with respect to discovery and navigation by Matthew Flinders

[Alasdair Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting history of the very first circumnavigation of Australia.

[Pikei · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

Great book, really enjoyed it! I learnt a lot about Matthew Flinders and his adventures around Australia. Also about Bass.

[Cecilia Van Der Merwe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read about a truly remarkable explorer!

[Mark Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book on a forgotten hero. Barely known in the UK but thankfully with tributes in Australia, Flinders circumnavigated Australia proving it was the worlds largest island or worlds smallest continent. He also proved Tasmania is an Island. The book is also positive about the much maligned Bligh (Bligh served with Cook and subsequently Flinders with Bligh). Sadly Flinders spent over 6 years unjustly imprisoned by the French on Mauritius dying young on his return. Amazingly (or not if you know Governments) they kept him on half pay and wouldn't post date his promotion, still Flinder's did his duty!

[Neil Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice easy to read synopsis of Flinder life and accomplishments.

[Kristian Brockmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a study after researching Cook's charts for some years and after reading The Bounty, which was a history of the Bligh mutiny and story of survival and reyribution. I mounted an expedition whilst reading the book to gain an insight and to follow in history's footsteps by travelling to Green Cape lighthouse on the NSW Victoria border on April 19 the journal entry for Cook sighting the east coast in 1770. Flinder's biography was fascinating as the lighthouse at Montague island shone through the night whilst I was reading of its discovery all those years ago. His circumnavigation of Australia was remarkable and yet most impressive was the journey with George Bass and the discovery of Tasmania's distinction from the mainland. The two sailors braved the weather of the southern seas and the wild west coast. The roaring forties eased somewhat enough for their ship to complete the journey and their remarkable luck was told rather splendidly by Mundle in the biography. It was great too to learn his skills with charting and navigation and the story of the voyages of the Frenchman Baudin and the famous Encounter Bay at Victor Harbour in South Australia, where they met. His expertise as a navigator was tempered by tragedy of conflict with the Napoleonic wars and the loss of one of Australia's iconic pioneers too soon. A very easy book to read mainly due to the style of storytelling. Well done Rob Mundle. A friend was reading his biography on Bligh a little while beforehand and praised that book as well. Seems he has a knack for capturing that moment in history.

[Dane · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories behind the mapping of the Australian coastline.

I read this book to get a better understanding of our history and the stories behind

A few points

1. I was interested in the courage that had to go into leaving the security of a modern country like England braving the ocean and searching for something you don’t know entirely exists must have been huge. Today we are so focused on results, back then they sailed on a possibility.

2. The talent it took to keep these old wooden boats above water as they gradually sank (they seem to have been very rarely water tight ships)

3. The talent it took to draw these amazing maps and drawings of nature (William Westall’s sketches on the HMS Investigator)

4. The cutting of Flinders pay while he was imprisoned. The guy maps you out a new country, survives a shipwreck gets given a trash boat by the governor to get home in and then gets imprisoned when he stops to ask the french for help with the leaky boat. Then the government pretty much tells his wife (I paraphrase) we are only going to give you half your husbands pay because he isn’t doing much work in a cell, haha wow!

5. The finding of Bass straight. It’s hard to imagine that there was a time that they once believed the two parts of Australia were connected. It’s easy to say we know Tasmania and Victoria are seperate considering we have knowledge of it, but floating a ship past a land mass in an ocean it’s understandable how it was missed by so many before (cook and the dutch.)

[Matt Ryall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great maritime history of Flinders's historic voyages around Australia. Highly recommended for anyone into sailing or history of the early Australian explorers.

Some might find the sailing jargon a bit heavy, but I enjoyed the additional colour, glossing over terms that didn't seem important. Have Google Maps handy, so you can trace hus journies around the continent, and see how many modern place names retain the labels given to them by Flinders.

[Martijn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though well researched and written, the story is sometimes tough to chew on. Especially after the umpteenth time Flinders sets out to explore a piece of coast. I also could have done without the parts concerning Trim. I would've welcomed more elaboration on the incredible parts of him being held captive by the French and of his final years in London. But in the end an interesting read about a very interesting explorer.

[Warren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written and readable, fast paced but felt it may have skipped along fast. Some of the nautical terminology was beyond me. A well researched and enjoyable book.

[Deirdre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and informative - rather long. Very readable, but more for those with a bent for facts and detail.

[Vicky Kennard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good read but it really lacked maps!!! The detail about the observations would have been much better with maps and even photos of what was being described.

[John Henshaw · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent book. A man of great achievement whose personal life was filled with tragedy.