Bass and Flinders

16 Monday, September 15, 2014

Liz ZelencichProgram Manager

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George Bass (1771-1803?) explored

the east coast of Australia. Together with Flinders,

he sailed more than 18,000 kilometres exploring the

coastline of Australia and proved that Tasmania was an

island. Bass was born in England and arrived in Sydney

in 1795. In 1803, he disappeared after he sailed into the

Pacic Ocean with a cargo that he wanted to sell in South

America. Some people believe he was captured by the

Spanish and forced to work in mines in Peru.

Matthew Flinders (1774-1814) was born in Lincolnshire in England. Flinders joined the navy where he trained as a navigator. Flinders wanted to become a sailor and exp

lorer

after reading the book Robinson Crusoe. He met George Bass, a ship's doctor, when they were both

sailing to Australia on the Reliance. They became very good friends and were to go on many journeys

of exploration together. Flinders was to rst man to circumnavigate Australia. It was Flinders who

suggested the name "Australia" and it was adopted in 1824. Several places have been named after

him, such as Flinders Island.

Explorers of Australia

Upon their return, Bass and Flinders set off again in the Tom Thumb to explore the land south of Sydney. Unfortunately, a huge storm drove them further down the coast than they had intended and a huge surf drove the small boat ashore.They had heard stories that the aborigines in the area were hostile and so they decided not to light a re. This meant they spent the night cold, miserable and hungry. They saw some small islands and as the sea was now calm, decided to try and reach them. However, there was no suitable place to land and they spent another uncomfortable night in the small boat.The next morning they saw two aboriginals who surprised them by speaking in English. They led them to a creek, which they said was teeming with ducks and sh. However, they were then joined by some more aboriginals who were not so friendly. Bass and Flinders needed time to dry out their clothes and powder. So they worked out a plan to distract the aboriginals. Bass kept the natives amused repairing a paddle, while Flinders gave them a hair cut and trimmed their beards. Very relieved, they put out to sea and a huge storm drove them forward. After eight days, they reached Sydney, but were not particularly pleased with this expedition. The following year, Bass set off again in a whale boat and a crew of eight with supplies for six weeks. The party left on December 3, 1797 to explore the coast south of Sydney.Before travelling further south, they explored the Shoalhaven River, Jervis

Bay and Twofold Bay. Rounding the southern-most point of the mainland, Bass reached Western Port Bay. He was forced to stay here for two weeks because of bad weather.On an island, Bass found seven escaped convicts who had escaped from Sydney some time before. Bass took them back to the mainland, giving them a musket, powder and shing lines. The convicts intended to travel back to the settlement and give themselves up. However, they never reached it. They either died of starvation or were killed by aboriginals.Bass returned on February 24, 1798. He had been away 11 weeks and had explored 1000 kilometres of coastline, half of which had never been explored before.Because of voyages they had made separately, both Bass and Flinders were sure a body of water separated Van Diemen's Land (now called Tasmania) and the Australian mainland. In 1798 they sailed along the northern coast of Van Diemens Land. They rowed up the Tamar River to near where Launceston is today and later climbed to the top of Mount Wellington, which overlooks Hobart. They proved that there was water between Australia and Van Diemens Land and it was named Bass Strait by Governor Hunter.Flinders had been doing some exploring on his own and believed that he could prove that Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) was an island. Bass and Flinders convinced Governor Hunter another expedition should be set up with a bigger boat and more men. In 1798, Bass and Flinders sailed the

Norfolk through Bass Strait and round Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), proving that it was an island. This was to be their last voyage together as Bass disappeared mysteriously in the Pacic Ocean.In 1799 Bass resigned from the Royal Navy and sailed trading ships between the islands of the South Pacic. In 1803 he left Sydney headed for Chile in South America, but the ship disappeared and George Bass was never seen again.Matthew Flinders returned to England in 1800 and published a book about his and Bass' explorations. Then in 1801 Flinders was put in charge of an expedition to sail around and map the still unknown parts of the Australian coastline. He eventually circumnavigated (sailed all the way around) the Australian coast taking almost three years to do it because of the poor condition of the ship which needed regular repairs to stop it leaking. After returning to Sydney in 1803, Flinders sailed for England as a passenger on a ship called the Porpoise, but the ship was wrecked on a coral reef off the Queensland coast. Flinders took control of the ship's lifeboat and sailed to Sydney to get help for the shipwrecked passengers.As its captain, Flinders sailed a small schooner, the Cumberland, towards England. When the Cumberland started leaking, Flinders sailed to the island of Mauritius, a French colony. The French, who were at war with England, arrested Flinders as a spy and kept him in jail on the island for six years. In 1810 Flinders arrived back in England. He was not in good health and only lived for another four years. He died in 1814, aged 40.

was an Sydney d into the ell in South d by the

Some interesting links to explore:

http://www.abc.net.au/navigators/ca

ptains/indigenous/map.htm

http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/in

ders-matthew-2050

http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bas

s-george-1748

NIE featured activities:a) Bass and Flinders were adventurous, courageous explorers. Look through the newspaper to see if you can nd a story of someone displaying similar qualities.

b) If you were Matthew Flinders, what is one decision you would like to have changed during the circumnavigation of Terra Australis explain. Present this as a comic strip.

c) What ve questions about the inhabitants do you think Flinders wanted to have answers to? Rank them from most to least important. Compare your rankings with someone else and explain your reasoning. Draw a picture to show how Flinders and his crew

camped overnight when they went ashore. Compare their overnight accommodation to the homes

constructed by one group of indigenous people.

d) Prepare a two-minute talk from the perspective of one indigenous Australian

when Flinders and his crew were sighted in his/her region.

e) What challenges faced Bass, Flinders and their crews during their

voyages? Write a newspaper article about one of those challenges.

f) International Literacy Day is celebrated in September. This day is a time to celebrate the good things people get from reading. The newspaper can be a great source of inspiration for creative writing. Search todays paper to nd each of the following items for a short story of your own:

1. A person with an interesting name.2. A mystery that could serve as a plot.3. An unusual place that could be the setting for a story.4. A colourful statement made by a newsmaker that could be used to start a story.5. A hero or a villain for a story.Finish by writing the opening paragraphs of a story, using what you found in the newspaper. Give your story a title that will grab peoples attention.

(1774-1814) was born in Lnavigator. Flinders want

Although Flinders never once used his own name for any feature in all his discoveries, his name is now associated with over 100 geographical features

and places in Australia in addition to Flinders Island in Bass Strait. Flinders is seen as being particularly

important in South Australia, where he is considered the main explorer

of the state. Landmarks named after him in South Australia include

the Flinders Ranges and Flinders Ranges National Park, Flinders Chase

National Park on Kangaroo Island, Flinders University, Flinders Medical

Centre, the suburb Flinders Park and Flinders Street in Adelaide. In Victoria,

places include Flinders Street in Melbourne, the suburb of Flinders, the

federal electorate of Flinders, and the Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary

College in Geelong.Flinders Bay in Western Australia and Flinders Way in Canberra also

commemorate him. Educational institutions named after him

include Flinders Park Primary School in South Australia, and

Matthew Flinders Anglican College on the Sunshine Coast in

Queensland. A former electoral district of the Queensland Parliament was named Flinders. There are also

Flinders Highways in both Queensland and South Australia.