The extraordinary life loves and voyages of the man who put Australia on the map In 1810 Matthew Flinders made his final voyage home to his beloved wife Ann his body ravaged by the deprivations of years of imprisonment by the French. Four years later at the age of just 40 he would be dead - a premature tragic end to one of the worlds greatest maritime adventurers who circumnavigated and mapped the famed Great Southern Land and whose naming of the vast continent would become its modern title: Australia. Flinders took to the sea at age 16 inspired by the story of Robinson Crusoe and the adventures of Captain Cook swiftly climbing the ranks to fight in a decisive naval battle of the French Revolutionary wars. After sailing to Tahiti with William Bligh Flinders was drawn to adventure and by 1801 he was in command of an expedition to uncover the true nature of the great continent of the southern ocean. This sweeping biography tells the story of the fearless sharp-eyed handsome Flinders and how he became one of the worlds most intrepid explorers. Its a story of a great love for the sea for connection and of friendship - accompanied by his Aboriginal interpreter and guide Kuringgai man Bungaree and his beloved rescue cat Trim Flinders explored the furthest reaches and rugged coastlines of Australia. Its also a story of technical brilliance - Flinders meticulous charts gave us the first complete maps of our continent which are so accurate they are still used today. But rushing home to England to his adored wife Ann Flinders was trapped and incarcerated off the coast of Africa as a prisoner of war ultimately denied celebration of his great achievement. His love for Ann and his fight to escape his bonds to be with her again was the last great adventure of a fascinating life. From the bestselling critically acclaimed author of Banks Banjo Hudson Fysh and Monash Flinders is a rollicking tale of a man who loved the sea and adored his family - and pushed himself to the limits of human endeavour to show it.
