Flinders Journey

 

This beautiful picture of a pink lake came up on my pinterest board about a week ago and it immediately caught my attention.  I read underneath the pin that it is a naturally occurring pink lake in Southern Australia that was discovered by a man by the name of Matthew Flinders.  I love true life stories and intesting historical accounts so I began to read about this man's journey to what was known in that day, New Holland, a little over 200 years ago.  It's a story of duty, true and deep love, devotion and tragedy of the worst kind.  Matthew Flinders was an English man that was raised in a family that had a history of doctors and his parents hoped that he would follow in their footsteps but he fell in love with the sea and adventure and became employed by the royal navy of England to explore new worlds and make maps.  He became very good at it and had achieved a prestigious position and was put in charge of a ship called the Investigator and was commissioned to explore and map the Southern Coast of Australia.  It was not known at that time in 1801 if Australia was one land mass or two.  Matthew had a sweetheart, Anne, who he had known since childhood.  She was a beautiful girl with black curly hair and lovely eyes. When he was 27 and she was 29 they married just 3 months before he left on this voyage and was so hoping to take his beloved new wife with him but the navy refused his request.  She was so broken hearted at him going.  She wanted him to leave the navy and not go.  He left her in that very sad state and went to discover Terra Australius (The Southern Land).  He was a good man and very talented at what he did.  His crew loved and respected him and he did many things to earn that.  He mapped the Southern Coast and the Recherche Archipelagos.  On the largest island in the North Eastern corner of the isle, he sighted this pink lake and made note of it in his journal.  He went on to be the first to sail all the way around the continent and introduced the name Australia and the name stuck.  When he made it all the way around he went to port and received a letter from his wife, Anne, that told him the news of his father's death and her having had a serious illness.  I read this letter and almost wept.  He was such a eloquent man and I just love the English language of this era!  So beautiful.  I love it so much I would like you to see what he wrote.

 

'Grateful for thy recovered health, my dearest love, and grateful to thee for thy many long and most dear remembrances of me, which I have received on our arrival here some days since. How shall I express the anguish of my heart at the dreadful havock that death is making all around? How dear is the name of father to an affectionate son, and how sweet the idea of being soon able to console and assist him in his every want and wish. When parting with the hope of soon showing that my actions should prove better than my words how much I loved him, how dreadful is this blow. Tis too painful to be dwelt upon, although, alas, I have lately had too much experience of death's power, for my eyes can scarcely be turned where some victim does not die. Douglas, the boatswain is gone - the sergeant, two quarter-masters and another followed before we got into this port; and since, the gardener and three others are laid in earth. Death's hand is now stayed, and his envious eye which had been cast upon more of us seems to be turning away.'

'But little indeed can be boasted of our state and condition, but thou shalt have some brief account of us; and first of the ship [the Investigator]: a survey has been held upon her and which proves her to be so very much decayed as to be totally irrepairable.'

As he said in the letter the ship was irrepairable.  So he got another ship and headed home after being gone over 3 years.  The ship he got was not better and began to have trouble and he had to go into a French port on an island east of Madagascar.  There the governor of the island put him under house arrest because England was at war with France and he accused him of being a spy.  For 6 1/2 years he was held there and it took the British Navy to get him out.  During this time he worked on his journals and maps but his heart was deeply grieved and he suffered many sorrows because he had been parted from his wife for so long.  He was supposed to be back in 4 years, have a promotion and all would of been well.  While on this island he contracted a serious illness.  Finally when he got home to his wife, Anne, it had been 9 years and 3 months.  He was now 36 and she was 38 and he had failing health.  He got the promotion but not much money.  So they were poor.  Two years later they had a daughter, Anne, named after her mother.  She was a beautiful child.  Matthew continued his work and published it July 18, 1814, exactly 13 years from the time he left.  The sad thing was he died the next day at the age of 40.  His wife was deeply hurt and so saddened by his death because she loved him so much.  While he was on house arrest on that island he talked about how much he regretted what he did by leaving her.  Like most people he became famous after he died.  Australia is in great dept to him for all the information he gathered and from that, they were able to colonize the land.  Matthew Flinders will always be remembered by the Australians.  I will always remember him for his sad and bittersweet story.  A man of great love and great loss.