Home » Themes » People » Exploration
Matthew FlindersPrint Page 
The first European to site the passage and Kangaroo Island was Matthew Flinders who, during his circumnavigation of Australia in the Investigator in 1802, explored, charted and named the island.
On Kangaroo Island, Flinders and his crew killed 31 kangaroos and, as Flinders wrote: 'half a hundredweight of heads, forequarters and tails were stewed into soup...and as much steaks given....to both officers and men as they could consume by day and by night.... In gratitude for so seasonable a supply, I named this southern land Kangaroo Island ...'. Flinders also named the strait between the island and the mainland declaring 'It forms a private entrance, as it were, to the two gulphs (sic); and I named it Backstairs Passage'. Flinders also named Cape Jervis after the First Lord of the British Admiralty.
Location
| Address: | 2 Park Street, Light Cairn, Second Valley Caravan Park, Second Valley, 5204 |
|---|---|
| State: | SA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -35.573695 Long: 138.218676 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Exploration |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 23-March-1802 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 23-March-1802 |
| Link: | http://adb.anu.edu.au/ |
Dedication
| Approx. Monument Dedication Date: | April- 1948 |
|---|
Matthew Flinders R. N.
( 1774 - 1814 )
Commander of H.M. Sloop "Investigator"
Discovered and on 23 March 1802 when on Kangaroo Island named Cape Jervis after John Jervis, Admiral Lord St. Vincent,
First Lord of the Admirality.
Unveiled Pioneers Day April 1948.
