AustLit logo
y separately published work icon The Life of Matthew Flinders single work   biography  
Issue Details: First known date: 2002... 2002 The Life of Matthew Flinders
The material on this page is available to AustLit subscribers. If you are a subscriber or are from a subscribing organisation, please log in to gain full access. To explore options for subscribing to this unique teaching, research, and publishing resource for Australian culture and storytelling, please contact us or find out more.

Notes

  • Dedication: For Avril, Erik and Axel and also to the memory of the brave men who sailed on unknown seas to discover the shape and form of our world.

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Crows Nest, North Sydney - Lane Cove area, Sydney Northern Suburbs, Sydney, New South Wales,: Allen and Unwin , 2002 .
      Extent: xvi, 538p. , [8]p. of platesp.
      Description: illus., maps, ports, plans.
      Note/s:
      • Includes index and bibliography (p.505-513).
      ISBN: 1865085154 (hbk.)
  • Appears in:
    y separately published work icon Reader's Digest Encounters : Real Life Reading Sydney : Reader's Digest , 2004 Z1629795 2004 anthology biography autobiography Sydney : Reader's Digest , 2004 pg. 7-176
    Note: Condensed version. Includes photograph and biography of author. Does not include dedication.

Works about this Work

Writing White, Writing Black, and Events at Canoe Rivulet Catherine McKinnon , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: TEXT : Journal of Writing and Writing Courses , October vol. 16 no. 2 2012;
'How a community imagines the past contributes to the shaping of its present culture; influences that community's vision for the future. Yet much about the past can be difficult to access, as it can be lost or hidden. Therefore, when retelling first contact stories, especially when the documentary information is limited to a colonial perspective, how might a writer approach fictionalizing historical Indigenous figures? 'Will Martin' (2011), a tale written as part of my practice-led PhD, is a fictional retelling of the eighteenth century sailing trip, taken along the New South Wales coast, by explorers Matthew Flinders, George Bass, and Bass's servant, William Martin. This paper traces my attempts to discover how to approach fictionalizing the historical Indigenous figures that Flinders met. Examining how some non-Indigenous writers have appropriated Indigenous culture and investigating what some writers have said about non-Indigenous writers creating Indigenous characters, provided me with some guidelines. Interviews with Indigenous elders, and other members of the Illawarra community, helped me imagine the gaps in knowledge. In the fictional retelling, using unreliable narration to suggest there may be multiple stories around a single historical event, some of which we may never get to hear, became a useful narrative strategy.' (Author's abstract)
Exploration or Espionage? Flinders and the French Bruce Bennett , 2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journal of the European Association for Studies on Australia , vol. 2 no. 1 2011; (p. 14-23)
'The heroic status of Matthew Flinders as the maritime explorer who circumnavigated the Great South Land and gave it the name Australia has deflected attention from allegations against him of spying. During Flinders’s return voyage to England in 1803, he was forced to land at Isle de France (Mauritius) where he was detained for over six years as a spy. This article shows that the high-flown rhetoric of French and British authorities about the objectivity and neutrality of scientific voyages sometimes camouflaged more pressing demands for military intelligence and espionage.' Source: Brice Bennett.
Untitled Ann Howard , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , no. 77 2003; (p. 145-146)

— Review of The Life of Matthew Flinders Miriam Estensen , 2002 single work biography
Untitled Ann Howard , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: JAS Review of Books , March no. 13 2003;

— Review of The Life of Matthew Flinders Miriam Estensen , 2002 single work biography
Flaws Make the Man Martin Terry , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 11-12 January 2003; (p. 11)

— Review of The Life of Matthew Flinders Miriam Estensen , 2002 single work biography
Flaws Make the Man Martin Terry , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 11-12 January 2003; (p. 11)

— Review of The Life of Matthew Flinders Miriam Estensen , 2002 single work biography
The Race Debate Rodney Chester , 2002 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 28 September 2002; (p. 7)

— Review of The Life of Matthew Flinders Miriam Estensen , 2002 single work biography
Untitled Ann Howard , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: JAS Review of Books , March no. 13 2003;

— Review of The Life of Matthew Flinders Miriam Estensen , 2002 single work biography
Untitled Ann Howard , 2003 single work review
— Appears in: Journal of Australian Studies , no. 77 2003; (p. 145-146)

— Review of The Life of Matthew Flinders Miriam Estensen , 2002 single work biography
Exploration or Espionage? Flinders and the French Bruce Bennett , 2011 single work criticism
— Appears in: Journal of the European Association for Studies on Australia , vol. 2 no. 1 2011; (p. 14-23)
'The heroic status of Matthew Flinders as the maritime explorer who circumnavigated the Great South Land and gave it the name Australia has deflected attention from allegations against him of spying. During Flinders’s return voyage to England in 1803, he was forced to land at Isle de France (Mauritius) where he was detained for over six years as a spy. This article shows that the high-flown rhetoric of French and British authorities about the objectivity and neutrality of scientific voyages sometimes camouflaged more pressing demands for military intelligence and espionage.' Source: Brice Bennett.
Writing White, Writing Black, and Events at Canoe Rivulet Catherine McKinnon , 2012 single work criticism
— Appears in: TEXT : Journal of Writing and Writing Courses , October vol. 16 no. 2 2012;
'How a community imagines the past contributes to the shaping of its present culture; influences that community's vision for the future. Yet much about the past can be difficult to access, as it can be lost or hidden. Therefore, when retelling first contact stories, especially when the documentary information is limited to a colonial perspective, how might a writer approach fictionalizing historical Indigenous figures? 'Will Martin' (2011), a tale written as part of my practice-led PhD, is a fictional retelling of the eighteenth century sailing trip, taken along the New South Wales coast, by explorers Matthew Flinders, George Bass, and Bass's servant, William Martin. This paper traces my attempts to discover how to approach fictionalizing the historical Indigenous figures that Flinders met. Examining how some non-Indigenous writers have appropriated Indigenous culture and investigating what some writers have said about non-Indigenous writers creating Indigenous characters, provided me with some guidelines. Interviews with Indigenous elders, and other members of the Illawarra community, helped me imagine the gaps in knowledge. In the fictional retelling, using unreliable narration to suggest there may be multiple stories around a single historical event, some of which we may never get to hear, became a useful narrative strategy.' (Author's abstract)
Last amended 29 Sep 2009 11:36:26
X