Naval men who arrived in NSW in September 1795, Bass & Flinders were both intent of undertaking exploration and charting sections of New Holland, still largely unknown to the British. They became well known as navigators, explorers and map makers, charting the Australian coasts, and will likely be names known to most school children in Australia.
In this Part 1 episode we take a look at the backgrounds of both men to understand what brought them to NSW.
(45 mins)
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Podcast Recommendation:
ABC’s Conversations, with Richard Fidler and Sarah Kanowski.
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/conversations
They describe their show as ‘spending an hour in someone else’s life’.
Have a look at their topics & guests, to see if anything takes your fancy. https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/conversations/episodes
REFERENCES Ep 70
ESTENSEN, MIRIAM., 2005. The life of George Bass: surgeon and sailor of the enlightenment. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-74114-130-3.
ESTENSEN, MIRIAM., 2002. The Life of Matthew Flinders. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 1-86508-515-4.
BOWDEN, KEITH MACRAE, 1952. George Bass: 1771 – 1803 His discoveries romantic life and tragic disappearance. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. ISBN n/a.
BASTIAN, JOSEPHINE, 2016. A passion for exploring new countries: Matthew Flinders & George Bass. North Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing. ISBN 978-1-925333-72-5.
WIKIPEDIA: LOBLOLLYBOY, 2023. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Loblolly_boy&oldid=1174372609 [Accessed April 2024].
DARK, ELEANOR., 1966. Bennelong (c. 1764–1813). In: Australian Dictionary of Biography. Available from: https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bennelong-1769 [Accessed April 2024].
HEISS, ANITA., 2013. Significant Aboriginal people in Sydney. 2013. Available from: https://www.sydneybarani.com.au/sites/significant-aboriginal-people-in-sydney/ [Accessed April 2024].
SMITH, KEITH V., 2020. George Bass – Eora•People. 2020. Available from: https://www.eorapeople.com.au/tag/george-bass/ [Accessed April 2024].
SMITH, KEITH VINCENT, 2015. Yemmerrawanne | The Dictionary of Sydney. 2015. Available from: https://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/yemmerrawanne [Accessed April 2024].
SMITH, KEITH VINCENT, 2019. Biography – Bennelong – People Australia. 2019. Available from: https://peopleaustralia.anu.edu.au/biography/bennelong-1769 [Accessed April 2024].
WIKIPEDIA: BENNELONG, 2024. Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bennelong&oldid=1217631480 [Accessed April 2024].
Music, IMAGES & other links:
- Intro/Exit music modified from: ‘Grand Canyon’ by David Löhstana [CCFM Music – 2018]
- Sound snippets: Sailing Ship noises – https://freesound.org/people/Supertyv2/sounds/166753/
- Flinders birthplace pic: https://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/weatherextremes/2014/09/05/getting-into-the-archive-lincolnshire-and-matthew-flinders-diaries/
- Bass memorial: https://www.heritagelincolnshire.org/event/hod-2024-george-bass-an-australian-adventure
- Bass compass – Pocket compass sundial used by George Bass on the whaleboat expedition that explored the coast of Victoria as far as Westernport Bay, 1797-98. https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/items/1800589
- Reliance & Sirius: https://hmssirius.com.au/tag/hms-reliance-1795/
TRANSCRIPT: https://www.australianhistoriespodcast.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Ep-70-BassFlinders-Transcript.pdf