126 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



Bay, returning to Sydney on 2Oth August. He came to the con- 

 clusion that there were no important rivers on this stretch of the 

 coast, having missed the Hunter, Clarence, Richmond and Brisbane. 

 Flinders sailed for England on 3rd March, 1800, in the 

 " Reliance" under command of Captain Waterhouse, and arrived 

 at Portsmouth on 26th August. He pressed the Admiralty for 

 employment in the further exploration and survey of Australia, 

 and through the influence of SIR JOSEPH BANKS was given the 

 " Investigator" a sloop of 334 tons, built as a merchantman and 

 originally known as the " Xenophon" He was promoted to the 

 rank of commander, and took possession of his ship on 25th January, 

 1801. The Admiralty was most liberal in " finding" the vessel, 

 giving Banks carte blanche to furnish it according to his own and 

 Flinders' ideas, and the assistants were well remunerated, accord- 

 ing to the value of money at the time, as witness the sums placed 

 against some of their names. Evidently, the expedition was a 

 popular one. Under Flinders, the following were the officers : 



1st Lieutenant, Robert Fowler. 



2nd Lieutenant, Ward Flinders. 



Midshipmen, 6, one of whom was John Franklin. 



Botanist, Robert Brown (420 per annum). 



Landscape and Figure Draftsman, William Westall (315). 



Botanical Draftsman, Ferdinand Bauer (315). 



Gardener, Peter Good (^105). 



Miner, John Allen (105). 



Astronomer, John Crossley (420). His health broke down, and he returned 



to England from the Cape of Good Hope, when Matthew Flinders and his 



brother, Ward, took over his duties. 



The East India Company donated ^600 for table-money for 

 the officers and staff. 



Britain was at war with France at this time, but in view of 

 the purely scientific aims of the expedition Flinders was provided 

 with a passport signed by the French Minister of Marine on 

 behalf of the First Consul. 



With this improvement in his position and prospects, Flinders 

 MARRIED, on 1 7th April, 1801, Miss Ann Chappell, 1 whom he pro- 

 posed to take with him, in spite of a regulation to the contrary. 

 The regulation had, indeed, been frequently disregarded, but un- 

 fortunately for Flinders recent instances of flagrant abuses on the 

 part of highly placed officers had just then forced the Admiralty 

 to insist on implicit obedience. Even Sir Joseph Banks looked 

 coldly upon what seemed like an attempt to smuggle a wife on 

 board. In the end, Flinders had to yield and leave his bride 

 behind. The separation was destined to last more than nine 

 years, and the married lovers had less than four years of life 

 together. 



1 Scott, Life of Flinders, p. 164. 



