Matthew Flinders to his wife, Ann
    On January 25, 1801, 26 year old Matthew Flinders was given command of H.M.S. Investigator, and charged with exploring and making a detailed survey of all the unknown parts of the Australian coastline. Before he left, he had one very important matter to settle. He had long been in love with his childhood friend, Ann Chappelle. With this new commission, he could at last afford to marry her, and on April 17, 1801--unbeknownst to the Admiralty--they tied the knot. Flinders planned to take Ann with him and settle her in Port Jackson, New South Wales, the future base for his exploration. But when his patron, Sir Joseph Banks, learned that Ann was aboard ship, he and the Admiralty made Flinders choose between his command and Ann's company. Late in May, Flinders wrote to Banks:

"I am afraid to risk their Lordships' ill opinion, and Mrs. F. will return to her friends immediately our sailing orders arrive."
Ann did not see her husband for almost 10 years. The letter extracted here is one of many in which they pondered their decision and consoled each other.
    Matthew and Ann had an understanding for at least six years before their marriage, and were accustomed to long period of separation. In one of her letters to him during his first exploration of Australian waters (1795-1801), Ann told him that she was studying geography. It was, she wrote,

"...most necessary to keep in touch with thee, but indeed thou art beyond geography. Thy descriptions of the new land are enthralling, I read them over and over again with gladness. Thou hast asked me if I would ever be willing that we should make our home there. Believe me, dear Matthew, I should be more than willing, for if thou canst find happiness and beauty in that wild strand, so shall I. But as thou sayest, this is but a dream. We know not what the future will bring."
    On July 17, 1801, H.M.S. Investigator sailed under Flinders's command. He wrote to his wife in Lincolnshire, imploring her to

"...write to me constantly, write me pages and volumes. Tell me what thou wearest, tell me thy dreams, anything, so do but talk to me and of thyself."
After many adventures, the slow work of mapping the 12,000 miles of coast was completed. The Investigator, which was old when Flinders set out, gradually rotted under him, and in 1803 he decided to return to England aboard H.M.S. Porpoise to bring back a new ship. More than anything, he wanted to see Ann again. He wrote to a friend, Mrs. Macarthur, in Paramatta in July 1803:

"Adieu my dear Madam--I am going home with the promise of being attended by fortune's smiles, and with the delightful prospect of enfolding one to whom my return will be a return of happiness. Be propitious, kind fortune, as heretofore and fail me not at this delightful anxious period."
About 750 miles north-northeast of Sydney, Flinders's new ship was wrecked, and he was forced to continue his voyage to England on the small schooner Cumberland. She was a difficult boat to handle and was in poor condition. On September 24, 1803, he wrote to Governor King that she was

"...exceedingly crank...very leaky. I am now sitting on the locker with my knees up to my chin for a table to write on, and in momentary expectation of the sea coming down the companion."
To Ann he wrote:

"Writing here is like writing on horseback on a rainy day."
Having nursed the Cumberland well across the Indian Ocean, Flinders was forced to put into Ile de France (present-day Mauritius). This was French territory, and Britain and France were at war. Because he arrived in such a tiny boat, Flinders's documents and safe-conducts as an explorer were viewed suspicion by General Decaen, who was in charge of the island. Flinders was held first as a spy, and then as a guest, while his case was referred to Paris. As time passed, he learned too much about the strategically important island to be released in time of war, with the result that his detention lasted for six years. He made good friends among the French on the island, but he was sustained most of all Ann's letters:

"I sigh for them as the most desired of blessings,"
he wrote. He imagined her response to his own letters:

"Happy letter! Happy seal! They will be received by thee with joy, perhaps receive a kiss. O that I were freed from the bond of my parole and could as easily be transported to thee. Still, my beloved, entertain hope. Misfortunes must sometimes have end, and what happiness will be ours when they cease."
Flinders was eventually released on June 13, 1810, but his health was broken by his long captivity. He sailed immediately for England, arriving on October 23.
    For whatever reasons--whether because he had been too friendly to the French, or because some of his decisions on the voyages were questioned--the officials in the Admiralty did not give Flinders the financial reward he expected. He spent the next few years writing the story of his momentous explorations, which was published as A Voyage to Terra Australis. In 1812 Ann gave birth to their daughter, Anne. Two years later Matthew lay unconscious on his deathbed. His wife placed the first printed copy of his book in his hand so that he might at least feel his life's work. He died the next day. A joy and consolation to him throughout their long separation and short time together, Ann later wrote:

"Respecting my union with my beloved...I think that I may say that during the period we were permitted to live together, not a cloud cast a shadow over the sunshine of our affections, and each day seemed to rivet the attachment more firmly."





Text from
Famous Love Letters
Messages of Intimacy and Passion
Edited by Ronald Tamplin