Captain Matthew Flinders & TrimPrint Page

The sculpture commemorates navigator Matthew Flinders (1774 -1814) and his cat Trim. Trim was a ship`s cat who accompanied Matthew Flinders on his voyages to circumnavigate and map the coastline of Australia in 1801–03.

The statue depicts Flinders kneeling and using his compass to chart his voyage along the South Australian coast.  His map of Australia is on the base and he is measuring a part of the coastline. A similar statue is located at Flinders University Campus, Tonsley.  Another casting of the same statue is on permanent today at London's Euston Station, beneath which Matthew Flinders is buried.

Flinders set sail from England in "HMS Investigator" in July 1801 with a commission to examine and survey the coast of New Holland, with particular reference to the `unknown coast` between longitude 130 degrees East of, and Bass Strait.

Flinders arrived at and named Fowlers Bay on South Australia`s west coast in January 1802 and from there on continued to explore, map, describe and name South Australia`s coastline in particular detail. A significant event during the course of the expedition was the `encounter` between the "Investigator" and "Le Geographe" under the command of Frenchman Captain Nicolas Baudin, in Encounter Bay on 8 April 1802. 

Flinders` voyage was important scientifically for the botanical and zoological work undertaken, for Flinders` thorough and innovative work on navigational and cartographical problems and for his attention to the health and welfare of his crew. His detailed and meticulous work in exploring and mapping the unknown coast between the head of the Great Australian Bight and the Murray Mouth has no equal in Australia`s maritime history.

Location

Details

Dedication