That’s what we used to call the girls from the High School. Not a great name I know, but that’s what we called them when I went to school in Geelong. The school was Matthew Flinders Girls High School when I knew of it but it’s now Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College.

Matthew Flinders is one of those people from history that I like. They’re the underrated ones. They don’t get all the glory but played important roles.

So who was he, what did he do and why does he have a girls school named after him?

History books cover Captain James Cook and his role in Australia’s discovery as being fundamental. It was, but only to a point. While he travelled here three times, first in 1768 – 1771 and was the first European to extremely accurately map the eastern coast of Australia, he did not establish that Australia was in fact an island. It was Matthew Flinders who did this.

Born in Donington in Lincolnshire, England in 1774 he joined the Royal Navy as a trainee navigator in 1789. From 1791 – 1793, he sailed with none other than Captain William Bligh on a journey to Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania) where he helped chart some of the waters. In 1795, he again sailed to Australia and on board with him, as surgeon, was George Bass.

Arriving in Australia Flinders and Bass, now good friends, explored the coast south of Sydney. Bass did this again a little later in a larger boat where he decided that there had to be a strait of water between VDL and the mainland. Of course, there was and it was later named by Flinders as Bass Strait after George Bass. Interestingly, I note here that a number of earlier maps and books have it as Bass’s strait.

Not long after this Flinders and Bass obtained a larger boat and resources to conduct a hydrographic survey of Tasmania. They completed this and in 1800 produced a map of Tasmania. Not long after this Bass departed to be a merchant and make his fortune. However, upon sailing into the Pacific in 1803, he was apparently not heard of ever again and it seems that no-one knows of what became of him.

Flinders’ and Bass’ efforts went down well back in England. So well in fact that he returned to Australia in 1801 on HMS Investigator and this time he was going to circumnavigate Australia. He completed the trip in 1803 but by now the Investigator was rotten so he went as a passenger on HMS Porpoise. It struck a reef and he returned to Sydney. Then, in charge of HMS Cumberland, he set off again. The ship sailed into Mauritius for repairs but here he was accused by the French of being a spy and was accordingly interred there for seven years. He was released in 1810 when the British took the island.

In 1814, just prior to his death he published a two volume work including a map, which for the first time, had the word Australia specifically on it.

And while a lot, admittedly British books, cover and crown Cook with glory, Flinders certainly has him well covered in Australia for being remembered. Apparently second only to Queen Victoria in the number of statues in Australia, and she certainly has a lot named for her including this great state, he is well remembered in this country for his outstanding deeds. South Australia, in particular, remembers him well as he is considered there to be the main explorer of that state.

So back to the “fleas” and where I started all of this. We’ve remembered Flinders in a number of ways that I know of and a lot of them in Geelong. Why?

It’s because he spent quite some time in Geelong and the immediate area exploring and mapping.

Indented Head – Bellarine Peninsula

This was named by Flinders in April 1802 when he observed the shape of the Bellarine Peninsula coastline from the summit of Arthurs Seat, across Port Phillip.

In the early days of Port Phillip (i.e. long before it was Victoria) the term “Indented Head” referred to a much larger area than it does today. Today Indented Head is a sleepy seaside village on the Bellarine Peninsula famous for being the place where Flinders first landed in 1802 and then crossed Corio bay to explore the You Yangs. It is also probably better remembered for being the place where John Batman also landed with his party from the Rebecca on 29 May 1835 and then headed to what is now Melbourne in search of Aboriginal elders to “purchase” their lands. This “purchase” of course was the signing of the infamous Batman treaty.

A cairn on the foreshore in what is called Batman Park commemorates both Flinders and Batman landing here.

Flinders Peak – You Yangs

Flinders was the first European explorer to visit the You Yangs ranges near Geelong. On May 1, 1802, he and three of his men climbed to the highest point and named it "Station Peak". This was later changed to Flinders Peak in his honour.

Matthew Flinders Girls Secondary College – La Trobe Terrace, Geelong

The school first opened in 1858 as Flinders National Grammar School. Whilst at first co-educational, it became a girls school in 1940. Over time the name of the school has changed but it has always contained the name Flinders as it still does today.

Flinders Memorial Park - Lara

A cemetery on Forest Road in Lara that was established in 2002.

Investigator

The regular magazine of the Geelong Historical Society is named for Flinders’ boat.

In the rest of Victoria:

• Flinders Island - Bass Strait

• Flinders Street - Melbourne

• The Matthew Flinders Hotel - Chadstone

• Flinders - town on the Mornington Peninsula

• Statue – Swanston Street, Melbourne

• Flinders – federal electorate.

A bit further afield:

South Australia

• Flinders Bay – Cape Leeuwin

• Flinders Chase National Park - Kangaroo Island

• Flinders Ranges and Flinders Ranges National Park - South Australia

• Flinders University

• Flinders Medical Centre – a public teaching hospital and medical centre

• Flinders Park – suburb

• Flinders Street

• Flinders Highway.

Rest of Australia

• Flinders group of islands – off Cape York

• Flinders Reef - Coral Sea

• Statue – Macquarie Street, Sydney – in front of the NSW State Library

• Flinders Bay – Western Australia

• Flinders Way – Canberra

• Matthew Flinders Anglican College – Sunshine Coast, Queensland

• Flinders Highway – Queensland

• Bass & Flinders Point – NSW.

So next time you see the name Flinders, and as we’ve seen it’s out there quite a bit – remember him as the person who circumnavigated and mapped this country first.

Until next time, have fun out there.

CG