Memory CovePrint Page 
The plaque is a replica of the original which is held in the South Australian Maritime Museum. The original plaque was erected by Matthew Flinders at Memory Cove, 1802, after the accidental drowning of eight of the ship's company.
In February 1802 Captain Matthew Flinders in his ship Investigator was hard at work charting the coast of South Australia. The ship was charting the whole Southern Australian coastline from west to east. Flinders found the entrance to a large gulf which he named Spencer's Gulf after Earl Spencer, First Lord of the Admiralty in Britain.
On 22 February Flinders anchored in a cove near the entrance of Spencer's Gulf. There, on 24 February he erected a tablet in memory of John Thistle, the master, William Taylor, midshipman, and six of the crew who, as Flinders wrote, were 'unfortunately drowned near this place from being upset in a boat. The wreck of the boat was found but their bodies were not recovered'. Flinders named the cove, Memory Cove, and the nearby cape, Cape Catastrophe.
He had erected South Australia's first memorial which was an engraved sheet of copper attached to a stout post. Replacement plates were mounted at Memory Cove in 1897 and again in 1924.
Location
| Address: | Memory Cove, Lincoln National Park, 5607 |
|---|---|
| State: | SA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -34.963889 Long: 135.988889 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Plaque |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | People |
| Sub-Theme: | Tragedy |
Dedication
| Approx. Monument Dedication Date: | 1924 |
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Memory Cove
H.M.S. Investigator, M Flinders Comr.
Anchored here Feby. 22nd. 1802.
Mr. John Thistle the Master
Mr. William Taylor Midn. and six of the crew were most unfortunately drowned near this place from being upset in a boat.
The wreck of the boat was found but their bodies were not recovered.
" Nautici Cavete ! "
