Matthew FlindersPrint Page 
The talking monument commemorates the story of Matthew Flinders` exploration. The monument was unveiled on the anniversary of his landing on Bribie Island on the 16th July 1799.
Captain Matthew Flinders, Royal Navy (1774 – 1814) was a distinguished English navigator and cartographer, who was the first to circumnavigate Australia and identify it as a continent. Flinders made three voyages to the southern ocean (August 1791 – August 1793, February 1795 – August 1800 and July 1801 – October 1810).
He landed on Bribie Island unaware that it wasn’t the mainland and met a small group of Aborigines who had gathered on the beach. Although Bungaree didn’t speak the same dialect as the local aborigines the meeting was peaceful until one attempted to remove Flinders’ hat. Flinders refused and the Europeans and Bungaree returned to their boat. As they left the man threw a spear that missed the small boat and crew. Flinders fired his musket and wounded the man. The Aborigines fled the beach. Flinders named the southern shore and site of the confrontation Point Skirmish (South Point)
Flinders needed to repair leaks in his boat and pulled it ashore some five miles (8.0 kilometres) north of the area he had the incident with the locals for those repairs. Once his boat was repaired he explored the mainland side of the passage (Pumicestone Passage) and scaled one of the Glass House Mountains (Mt. Beerburrum) to get a view of the area.
Location
| Address: | Solander Esplanade, Col Fisher Park, Banksia Beach, 4507 |
|---|---|
| State: | QLD |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -27.037442 Long: 153.132975 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Landscape |
| Sub-Theme: | Exploration |
| Designer: | Kirsti Simpson |
| Artist: | Tom Farrell (sculpture) |
| Link: | https://adb.anu.edu.au |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Saturday 16th July, 1988 |
|---|
The Matthew Flinders Story
Plaque :
The concept of this monument was designed by Miss Kirsti Simpson depicting the Earth`s Northern and Southern Hemispheres joined by early navigators.
This piece of Helidon stone was sculpted by Mr Tom Farrell to depict the Matthew Flinders story
The work was sponsored by the Australian Bicentennial Authority Federal Heritage Programme, Vercorp Developers of Solander Shores and the Bribie Island Bicentennial Community Committee
This monument was unveiled on the 16th July.
The anniversary of Flinders landing by Lt. Commdr D. M. Kidd, R.A.N.E.M.
