Guide to the records relating to Matthew Flinders (as filmed by the AJCP)

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M444, M3033 - M3037

National Library of Australia View Catalogue Record

Created: 2019

Collection Summary

Creator: Flinders, Matthew, Captain
Title: Papers of Captain Matthew Flinders (as filmed by the AJCP)
Date Range: 1779 - 1912
Collection Number: M444, M3033 - M3037
Extent: 78 items
Language of Materials: English
Repository: Australian Joint Copying Project
Sponsor: The Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP) online portal was created with the assistance of the Australian Public Service Modernisation Fund, 2017-2020. The National Library of Australia gratefully acknowledges the contribution of the other foundation AJCP partners, the State Library of New South Wales and The National Archives of the UK, and all other organisations which supported the work of the AJCP, the world's most extensive collaborative copying project, operating from 1948 to 1997.

Introduction

Scope and Contents

Includes:

Selections from Admiralty 1 and 7 in the Public Record Office relating to Matthew Flinders (Adm. 1/177, 1200, 1800, 1803-1804, 1806-1809, 2020-2021, 3762-3763, 4379, 4382, 4689 and Adm. 7/707-8).

Correspondence between Flinders and the Admiralty re the Investigator, his exploration of the coast of Australia and his time on Mauritius; miscellaneous correspondence 1797-1814. Correspondents include Sir Joseph Banks and Thomi Pitot; correspondence between the Admiralty and the French Government concerning Flinders; despatches from Governor King; official correspondence re the release of Flinders from Mauritius and the recovery of his journal; and three letters written by Sir Joseph Banks 1806 re botanical and mineral specimens collected by Joseph Brown and the sketches of Ferdinand Bauer.Also includes journals and narratives 1791-1810 including journals kept on HMS Providence (c.1791) and HMS Bellerophon (1793-1794), narratives of voyages on HMS Tom thumb (1795-1796) and Investigator (1814).

Manuscript, printed charts, drawings and prints 1792-1812 including chart of the passage between New Holland ad New Guinea as seen from HMS Providence in 1792, and charts published by Alexander Dalrymple and A. Arrowsmith. Also included are two copies of Flinders unpublished manuscript A narrative of the causes that prevented His Majesty's ship the Investigator from completing the examination and discovery of the Coasts of Australia..., July 1806", 332, lxxiv.

Letters sent to Mrs Flinders by Sir Joseph Banks, Sir John Franklin and Thomi Pitot.

Papers 1800-1912 of Sir Willliam Flinders Petrie concerning the life of his grandfather.

Conditions Governing Access

Available for access.

Conditions Governing Use

Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.

Preferred Citation

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234).

Archival History

Material selectively filmed at the National Archives of the United Kingdom and the National Maritime Museum, as part of the Australian Joint Copying Project, 1960 and 1992 (AJCP Reels: M444, M3033-M3037).

Original microfilm digitised as part of the NLA AJCP Online Delivery Project, 2017-2020.

The records filmed as part of M444 comprise letters, manuscripts and other documents written by or relating to Matthew Flinders and are held in two classes of Admiralty records at The National Archives (formerly the Public Record Office). They were originally filmed at the request of James D. Mack, the author of Matthew Flinders 1774-1814 (Melbourne, Nelson, 1966).

The personal papers, filmed as M3033-M3037, are part of the Flinders papers presented to Melbourne by Professor Flinders Petrie. Together with books and relics of Matthew Flinders they were deposited in the National Maritime Museum on temporary loan for cataloguing in August 1958 by the owners, Miss A.F. Petrie and J.F. Petrie Esq., and in March 1060 were formally transferred on indefinite loan.

Existence and Location of Originals

The National Archives United Kingdom: Public Record Office. Kew, Richmond and Surrey.Collection Reference: ADM 1 and ADM 7.

For further information see The National Archives of the UK. [http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/h/C706]

National Maritime Museum. Romney Road, Greenwich.Collection Reference:NMM. Section 4 FLI

For Further information see Matthew Flinders at the National Maritime Museum. [https://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/500412.html]

Existence and Location of Copies

The original AJCP microfilm of the records filmed from this collection is available at the National Library of Australia[https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn8032452] as well as other institutions holding AJCP microfilm.

Most, although not all, of the documents filmed as M444 were also filmed by the Australian Joint Copying Project as part of the Admiralty records in the Public Record Office series. They can be located by checking the Guide to Admiralty Records (as filmed by the AJCP) [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn7833775].

See also Collections held by the Lincolnshire Archives Office relating to Australia and the Pacific (as filmed by the AJCP)for correspondence of Captain Matthew Flinders. [https://nla.gov.au/nla.cat-vn2115980]

Finding Aid Note

This finding aid is a revised online version of the original finding aid prepared by the Australian Joint Copying Project (AJCP), published by the National Library of Australia in 2019. The original AJCP finding aids were unpublished typescripts or photocopies available from libraries that held copies of the original microfilm.

Dates used in this finding aid refer to the date range of the records selected for filming rather than to the date range of the Series or Files.

Subjects

Arrowsmith, A.; Australia; Australia: exploration; Australis: Botany; Paintings, drawings and prints: Australia; Banks, Sir Joseph; Bass, George; Bauer, Ferdinand; Bellerophon, HMS (ship); Botany: Australia; Brown, Robert; Dalrymple, Alexander; Exploration: maritime; Explorers; Flinders, Ann; Flinders, Matthew, Capt.; France; Franklin, Sir John; Great Britain. Admiralty; Great Britain. Transport Board; Investigator, HMS (ship); King, Philip G., Capt.; Magnetic observations; Maps, plans and charts: Australia; Mauritius; Minerals; Naval officers; Papua New Guinea; Petrie, Sir William F.; Pitot, Thomi; Providence, HMS (ship); Royal Navy: exploration and surveys; Royal Navy: voyages; Tasmania: exploration; Tom Thumb (ship)

Bibliography

Originally cited in Australian Joint Copying Project Handbook. Part 8: Miscellaneous (M) Series. Third Edition, published 1998. Entry 169, p. 61.

Biographical / Historical

Matthew Flinders (1774-1814) was born in Donington, Lincolnshire. He entered the Royal Navy in 1789 and in 1791 made his first visit to the Pacific, serving as a midshipman on HMS Providence under William Bligh. In 1795 he sailed to New South Wales on HMS Reliance and, with George Bass, explored the coast south of Sydney. In 1798-1799 he and Bass explored Bass Strait and made the first circumnavigation of Van Diemen's Land. He returned to England in 1800.

In 1801 Flinders was promoted to the rank of commander and given command of a sloop, HMS Investigator . He received orders from the Admiralty to explore the unknown southern coast of Australia. He reached Cape Leeuwin in December 1801 and sailing eastwards he charted the Great Australia Bight, Spencer's Gulf, St Vincent's Gulf, Kangaroo Island, and Encounter Bay, where he met the French explorer Nicolas Baudin. He explored Port Phillip Bay before reaching Sydney in May 1802. In July 1802 Flinders resumed the survey, sailing north to Cape York and the Gulf of Carpentaria. He found that the Investigator was in a very poor state and was forced to abandon the survey, but he was able to return by way of the western coast and thereby complete the circumnavigation of Australia. He reached Sydney in June 1803.

In August 1803 Flinders sailed as a passenger on HMS Porpoise, but the ship was wrecked on the Great Barrier Reef. He sailed the ship's cutter back to Port Jackson and organised the rescue of the stranded crew. Intending to return to England, he took command of the Cumberland. The ship, however, leaked badly and in December 1803 he sought assistance at the Isle de France (Mauritius). Instead of assistance, the governor, General De Caen, treated him as a spy and Flinders remained a virtual prisoner on the island for six years. He finally reached England in October 1810 and was promoted to post captain. In failing health, he worked on A Voyage to Terra Australis, which was published the day before his death.

Item Descriptions

Series ADM 1. Admiralty and Secretariat Papers, 1801 - 1812

5 items

Archival History

Originally filmed on AJCP reel M444.

Letters from Admirals etc. - East Indies, 1805 - 1806 (File)

1 item

Archival History

For further information on the original records held by The National Archives of the UK see Letters from Admirals etc - East Indies.

Admirals' despatches: East Indies, 13 August 1805 - 15 January 1806 (Item Adm 1/177)

Flinders (Mauritius) to Sir Edward Pellew, 13 Aug. 1805: account of voyage of Cumberland from New South Wales; reasons for putting in at Mauritius; seizure of schooner, charts, books and papers; degrading treatment of Flinders and crew; contrast with treatment accorded to French officers by Governor King; attaches documents. Also an acknowledgment by Pellew, 15 Jan. 1806.

Naval Stations - Portsmouth, 1812 (File 2)

1 item

Archival History

For further information on the original records held by The National Archives of the UK see Naval Stations - Portsmouth

Admirals' despatches: Portsmouth, 30 May 1812 (Item Adm 1/1200)

Sir Richard Bickerton (Portsmouth) to Admiralty, 30 May 1812: sends reports received from various ships on compass variations.

Captains' Letters - Surnames A-H, 1801 - 1812 (File 3)

9 items

Archival History

For further information on the original records held by The National Archives of the UK see Captains' letters - Surnames A-H

Captains' letters (F), 1801 (Item Adm 1/1800)

Letters from Flinders HMS Investigator to E. Nepean (Admiralty): appointment of crew members; procurement of charts, books, stationery and articles suitable as presents; repairs needed on the ship; conduct to be observed towards French vessels; departure from Spithead; performance of ship. Also instructions from the Lords of the Admiralty to Flinders (n.d.) and copies of letters from the Admiralty to Flinders.

Captains' letters (F), 1802 - 1804 (Item Adm 1/1803)

Includes Flinders (Mauritius) to Admiralty, 30 Dec. 1804: his continued captivity; sends copies of letters to Governor De Caen.

Captains' letters (F), 1805 - 1806 (Item Adm 1/1804)

Includes Flinders (Mauritius) to W. Marsden (Admiralty), 13 March 1805: sends copy of letter to M. Fleurieu on erroneous statement about Flinders's intentions on travelling to Mauritius; refers to the friendly reception that the Geographe and Naturaliste received at Port Jackson.

Captains' letters (F), 1808 - 1809 (Item Adm 1/1806)

Includes Flinders (Mauritius) to W. Marsden, 20 Jan. 1808: continued imprisonment despite an order from the French Minister for the Marine; seizure of letters by De Caen; sends copies of letters to Minister and Col. Monistrol.

Captains' letters (F), 1810 (Item Adm 1/1807)

Letters from Flinders (London) to J.W. Croker and J. Barrow (Admiralty): request for compensation payment for his time imprisoned at Mauritius; efforts by P.G. King, the Minister for the Marine and others to secure his release; De Caen's retention of the third volume of the Investigator's logbook.

Captains' letters (F), 1811 (Item Adm 1/1808)

Includes: Flinders (London) to J.W. Croker, 14 Nov. 1811: requesting an allowance while writing an account of their voyage on H.M.S. Investigator and drawing charts.

Captains' letters (F), 1812 (Item Adm 1/1809)

Includes: Letters from Flinders (London) to J.W. Croker: observations on the magnetism of ships; experiments on compass variations at Sheerness and Portsmouth. Also minutes by Capt. Hurd (Hydrographic Office) on the observations of Flinders.

Manuscript by Flinders, 4 July 1812, entitled 'An account of some experiments to ascertain the effects produced on the compass by the attractive power in ships, with the modes by which the error may be obviated' (45pp). Also a summary by Flinders, 'Magnetism of ships', 26 Aug. 1812 (3pp).

Draft circular to captains of the Royal Navy on Flinders' research, 29 Aug. 1812.

Captains' letters (K), 1803 (Item Adm 1/2020)

Includes: Letters from P.G. King (Sydney) to E. Nepean (Admiralty): reports on warships arriving at Sydney; explorations in Bass Strait by French ships; King's decision to form a settlement in Van Diemen's land; return of HMS Investigator; transfer of officers and men to the Porpoise; wreck of Porpoise on reef.

Letters from Flinders to P.G. King: condition of Investigator; transfer of crew to HMS Porpoise to complete exploration of Australian coasts; wreck of Porpoise.

Letters from P.G. King to Flinders: transfer of command of the Porpoise to Flinders; different modes of carrying out explorations; loss of the Porpoise.

Orders issued by King concerning a survey of the condition of the Investigator.

Account by Flinders of the loss of HMS Porpoise, 9 Sept. 1803.

Captains' letters (K), 1804 - 1805 (Item Adm 1/2021)

Includes: Letters from P.G. King (Sydney) to W. Marsden: sends copies of letters from Flinders to King written at Timor and Mauritius and a copy of a letter written by King to the Governor of Mauritius.

Transport Board, 1811 - 1812 (File 4)

2 items

Archival History

For further information on the original records held by The National Archives of the UK see Transport Board (http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/h/C150930).

Letters from Transport Department, 1811 (Item Adm 1/3762)

Includes: Board of Transport to J.W. Croker, 31 Jan. 1811: sends letter from M. Riviere (Department of Marine) concerning Flinders at Mauritius.

Letters from Transport Department, 1812 (Item Adm 1/3763)

Includes: Board of Transport to J.W. Crocker, 1 Jan. 1812: sends letter from M. Riviere on loss of Flinders' journal.

Promiscuous - Surnames A-H, 1805 - 1811 (File 5)

3 items

Archival History

For further information on the original records held by The National Archives of the UK see Promiscuous - Surnames A-H (http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/h/C150957).

Promiscuous letters (B), 1805 - 1806 (Item Adm 1/4379)

Memorandum by Sir Joseph Banks, Jan. 1806, on collections made by R. Brown and F. Bauer on voyage of HMS Investigator; requests that salaries be continued in manner similar to those of artists of J. Cook; proposed publication of engravings and descriptions of most interesting objects. Also covering letter to W. Marsden

Promiscuous letters (B), 1811 - 1812 (Item Adm 1/4382)

Letters from Sir Joseph Banks to the Admiralty on the charts and drawings of Flinders' voyage and the report by Flinders on variations of the compass. Also an unsigned memorandum on Flinders' paper on compass variations (7pp) and a draft letter to Sir Joseph Banks on the plates and charts of Flinder's voyage.

Promiscuous letters (H), 1811 (Item Adm 1/4698)

Letters from Hope to J. Barrow: refers to his relative Hugh Hope who secured the release of Flinders at Mauritius; promise made by Hope to secure the release of French prisoners of war in England.

Series ADM 7. Admiralty and Secretariat Miscellanea, 1806

2 items

Archival History

For further information see The National Archives of the UK. Collection Reference: ADM 7 (http://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/browse/r/h/C3741126).

Originally filmed on AJCP reel M444.

Narrative of Matthew Flinders of his imprisonment by the French, 1806 (File Adm 7/707)

Manuscript (332pp + 38 appendices) written by Flinders at Mauritius, July 1806, entitled 'A narrative of the causes that prevented His Majesty's Ship Investigator from completing the examination and discovery of the coasts of Australia, the embarkation of the commander and company on board His Majesty's armed vessel Porpoise, the loss of that ship, and of the Cato of London, upon a coral reef between New Caledonia and New South Wales, a voyage of 250 leagues to Port Jackson in an open boat, and the subsequent embarkation of the commander of the Investigator, with the charts etc of his discoveries, for England, in the Cumberland schooner of 29 tons. Also an account of his voyage as far as the Isle of France, his reception there by the French captain-general De Caen, and the treatment he has received during an imprisonment of --- years, interspersed with notices upon the voyage of Monsieur N. Baudin, and various observations and remarks'

Narrative of Matthew Flinders of his imprisonment by the French, 1806 (File Adm 7/708)

Manuscript by Flinders entitled 'Abstract of the Investigator's proceedings and discoveries on the coast of New Holland from 22 July 1802 when she sailed from Port Jackson to 12 March 1803' (4pp).

Includes a shorter version of the manuscript in Adm. 7/707 (132pp + 27 appendices), with a covering letter from Flinders to W. Marsden (Admiralty), 28 July 1806.

Series NMM FLI. Correspondence of Matthew Flinders, 1791 - 1815

4 items

Archival History

Originally filmed on AJCP reel M3033.

Personal letters from English correspondents received by Flinders, arranged alphabetically by name of writer, 1791 - 1814 (File FLI 1)

Official letters received by Flinders, 1801 - 1812 (File FLI 3)

Including Admiralty orders for voyage in Investigator, passport 1801, correspondence about Flinders' release, and pay (20 documents).

Copies of letters written by Flinders, 24 pages from a private letterbook, 1795 - 1808 (File FLI 4)

Series FLI 5 - 7. Personal and Service Papers and Memos, 1797 - 1814

3 items

Archival History

Originally filmed on AJCP reels M3033-M3034.

Service papers of Captain Flinders - commissions, certificates etc. (8 documents), 1797 - 1810 (File FLI 5)

Personal legal and business papers of Captain Flinders, wills, accounts, etc., 1811 - 1814 (File FLI 6)

Technical memoranda, mainly on variation of the compass, and correspondence from the Admiralty on the same subject, 1812 - 1814 (File FLI 7)

Includes copies of articles on his voyage published in contemporary periodicals, Malay vocabulary and alphabet.

Series FLI 8 - 14. Journals and Narratives of Captain Flinders, c. 1791 - 1809

9 items

Archival History

Originally filmed on AJCP reels M3034-M3035.

Portion of journal, relating to voyage on Providence with Bligh, c.1791 (File FLI 8a)

In the form of notes on places. (11p.).

Journal kept in the Bellerphon, September 1793 - July 1794 (File FLI 8b)

Includes: Glorious First of June. By Matthew Flinders, lieutenant

Biographical / Historical

Thomas Pasley (1734 - 1808) commander

Narrative of voyages in the Tom Thumb, September 1795 - April 1796 (File FLI 9a)

Up George's River and to Port Hacking, by Matthew Flinders. (24p.).

Narrative of expedition to Furneaux Islands on the coast of New South Wales in the Port Jackson colonial schooner Francis by Matthew Flinders, second lieutenant of H.M.S. Reliance, March 1798 (File FLI 9b)

Copy that was made in May 1877 by William M. Flinders Petrie when the original was presented to Melbourne Library.

Record of longitude by Earnshaw's chronometers, kept by Flinders in H.M.S. Investigator, November 1801 - December 1803 (File FLI 10)

Back of volume contains out-letterbook of Mrs Flinders 1821 - 32.

A biographical tribute to Trim the cat, by Matthew Flinders, Isle de France, December 1809 (File FLI 11)

Includes a copy of the same by Miss Tyler. (9p. + 13p.)

Journals and letterbook of Matthew Flinders, 1806 - 1807 (File FLI 12)

Incomplete unbound, folio, 180-230, at the end of the book are 18 pages of notes on Grant's History of the Isle de France, made in the Island.

Abridged narrative of a voyage of discovery to Australia performed in H.M.S. Investigator (File FLI 13)

3 items

English copy of Abridged narrative of a voyage of discovery to Australia performed in H.M.S. Investigator (Item FLI 13 a))

French copy of Abridged narrative of a voyage of discovery to Australia performed in H.M.S. Investigator (Item b))

Rough copy of the Voyage, Book II, ff.70-107 (Item c))

Newspapers. (File FLI 14)

Sydney Gazette. 1803 - 18 copies. The Orphan, 1804 - 1 copy, Isle de France Gazette, 1809-1810, 8 copies.

Series FLI 15 - 20. Charts and Drawings, 1779 - 1814

46 items

Archival History

Originally filmed on AJCP reel M3036.

Subseries FLI 15. Manuscript charts, 1791 - 1810

24 items

A chart of the passage between New Holland and New Guinea as seen in HMS Providence in 1792, 1791 - 1792 (File 1)

M.Flinders. (Also showing the track of the Pandora in 1791). 18 × 22 inches.

Original item filmed.

Chart of Port II Refugio in the island Vavaoo, by William Wilson, commander of the Royal Admiral, August 1801 (File 2)

Inset showing the Hoorn Islands.

23 × 23 inches.

Original item filmed.

Chart of Port St Vincent, coast of New Caledonia, surveyed in 1803, 1803 (File 3)

By William Kent, 2nd commander of HMS Buffalo.

Dedicated to Earl St Vincent.

10 × 13 inches.

Original item filmed.

Map showing a journey made in the interior of New South Wales, 25 July 1806 - 22 August 1806 (File 4)

16.5 × 9.75 inches

Original item filmed.

Sketch map, possibly for (4) Map showing a journey made in the interior of New South Wales (File 5)

16.25 × 9.75 inches

Original item filmed.

Survey of country between Port Dalrymple and the River Derwent, Van Diemen's Land, 1807 (File 6)

Charles Grimes, Surveyor General of Lands, New South Wales

42 × 21 inches

Original item filmed.

A copy of a survey of the Harbour of Rio de Janeiro. (With a view of the harbour entrance.), Undated (possibly made in the Reliance in 1795) (File 7)

Flinders.

Chart: 10.5 × 10 inches.

View: 2 × 10.5 inches.

Copy filmed

Chart of the harbour of Rio de Janeiro. (Companion to (7) A copy of a survey of the Harbour of Rio de Janeiro. (With a view of the harbour entrance.)) (File 8)

10.5 × 6.5 inches

Copy filmed

Isle Penantipode, discovered by HMS Reliance, H.Waterhouse, commander, 25 March 1800 (File 9)

Copied by S.Flinders. 7 × 9.5 inches.

Copy filmed

Copy of Mr Barrallier's sketch of Port Hunter, 15 May 1810 (File 10)

Annotated by Flinders. Tracing paper, 8 × 10 inches.

Copy filmed