Matthew Flinders and arid Australia

Port Augusta sits right at the head of Spencer Gulf in South Australia. It labels itself as “The Crossroads of Australia” because the two trans-continental trains - The “Indian-Pacific” and the “Ghan” both pass through Port Augusta.

Matthew Flinders was the first European to come to this place, in March 1802. He had been commissioned by the British Government to chart the coastline of Australia and had commenced the task at Cape Leeuwin, sailing and charting eastwards from that point. His ship was the “Investigator” which proved to be a leaky tub that eventually failed him completely in northern Australia.

As he pushed northwards up the waterway which he eventually called Spencer Gulf he was open to the thought that he might discover a strait which divided the continent in two, or perhaps that he would find the mouth of a large river. By the time he reached the vicinity of now Port Augusta the gulf was a narrow mangrove walled waterway that was obviously about to peter out totally.

He climbed a spectacularly red bank where there is a memorial marker today. From that position he could see around the compass. To the west some flat topped hills, to the north east a contorted range of hills which we now know as part of the Flinders Ranges, to the south the waters that he had just sailed.

So, there was no strait splitting the country and there was no grand river. Instead the country was dry and supported only sparse scrubby vegetation. That continues to be so today. It is only because of piped Murray River water that Port Augusta has some green grass and some shade trees.

It occurs to me that Matthew Flinders was the first of many explorers to penetrate into the dry heart of arid Australia and be disappointed by the country that was found. He is dramatically unique in that he came by sea -  no horses or camels for him. And he was first by a long way. It would be eleven more years before Blaxland, Lawson and Wentworth showed the way over the Blue Mountains west of Sydney. Then many more years before Edward John Eyre, Charles Sturt, John McDouall Stuart, Burke & Wills ventured forth with hopes of discovering splendid grasslands and found only scrub and despair.

Matthew Flinders, of course, sailed on to find his own servings of bitter despair. Detained for years in French Mauritius, then dead at the age of forty on the very day of the publication of his charts of Terra Australis. He is a towering figure of Australian history, a great man by any measure, his story is fascinating.

For those interested there is an  excellent recent book, "The Water Dreamers" by Michael Cathcart which deals with the history of the attempts of Australians to relate to their dry continent. For Matthew Flinders there are at least two good biographies.