Terra Australis: Matthew Flinders' great adventures in the circumnavigation of Australia

Matthew Flinders is the man who gave Australia its name. A Voyage to Terra Australis, first published in two volumes in 1814, is his masterwork describing his circumnavigation of the great island continent in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. This edited version includes the journey Flinders made with George Bass to prove that Tasmania is an island, his herculean voyage in the Investigator to map the Australian coastline and his account of the wreck of the Porpoise. Flinders' detailed stories of his travels remain vivid two hundred years later. He writes about his meetings with Aborigines, his encounters with French explorers and Macassan fishing fleets and his adventures with the great Aboriginal leader Bongaree. The backdrop to this epic drama is the unforgettable wilderness of Australia. Brilliantly edited and introduced by Tim Flannery, Terra Australis documents the shaping of Australia.