ISBN : 9782296022805
HMS INVESTIGATOR - A'COPPER-BOTTOMED' SHIP?
Peter Ashley
Had the Investigator not leaked like a sieve from the beginning, Matthew
Flinders' remarkable circumnavigation of Terra, Australis Incognita
between 1802 and 1803 would almost certainly have been an even greater
triumph of exploration and navigation. As it was, he did not complete the
task ordered and, thus, did not attract the fame and admiration deserved
during his remaining short life. It was only after the publication of his
Journal,l in the very week of his death, that the world began to understand
the significance ofhis achievements.
Whatever the reasons for the failure of his