H.M.S. Investigator

P007184 revised AU-VU:EOAS Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation

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English AACR2 Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules Cultural Object created 2023-03-31 human Helen Cohn updated 2024-08-27 human https://www.eoas.info/biogs/P007184b.htm culturalArtefact H.M.S. Investigator Royal Navy AACR2 Investigator, H.M.S. 1795 c. 1872 Maritime exploration Ship H.M.S. Investigator, originally a collier, was purchased by the Royal Navy in 1795 for service in the North Sea as H.M.S. Xenophon. In 1800 she was chosen by the Admiralty for an exploratory voyage in the seas of New Holland, continuing the work of previous navigators. The idea for such an expedition lay with Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society and himself a veteran of exploration in these waters. She was refitted, renamed Investigator, and sailed from Spithead in July 1801. Command was given to Matthew Flinders, a naval officer experienced in navigating Australian waters. Scientific personnel included botanist Robert Brown, artist Ferdinand Bauer, and collector Peter Good. Arriving off the southwest coast of New Holland in December, Flinders surveyed eastwards along the south coast and through Bass Strait, reaching Port Jackson in May 1802. In July Investigator departed for the intended circumnavigation of the continent, passing through the Great Barrier Reef and into the Torres Strait. Increasingly concerned at the parlous condition of the ship, Flinders decided to make for Port Jackson. Sailing via Timor and along the west and south coasts, the expedition arrived at Port Jackson in June. Investigator was decommissioned: Flinders decided to return to the United Kingdom for a replacement vessel. He did not reach home until 1810, having been a prisoner on the Ile de France for over six years. Brown and Bauer remained in Sydney. In the next two years they made extended visits to Tasmania (Brown) and Norfolk Island (Bauer) in pursuit of their scientific agendas. The Governor of New South Wales, Phillip King, instigated repairs of Investigator, such that in 1805 she was able to carry the scientists and their collections back to the United Kingdom. While the expedition yielded some of most significant natural history collections to reach Europe, the navigational and oceanographic results were disappointing. Investigator was declared unseaworthy and removed from active service. In 1810 she was sold and for the next 60 years was used as a commercial vessel under her former name Xenophon. She was broken up c.1872. 1795 1795 Event - Launched in Sunderland as merchant ship Fram 1798 1798 Event - Purchased by the Royal Navy and renamed Xenophon 1798 1800 Event - Service in the North Sea 18 July 1801 18 July 1801 Event - Embarked at Spithead, United Kingdom 6 December 1801 6 December 1801 Event - Sighted Cape Leeuwin, south western New Holland 8 April 1802 8 April 1802 Event - Encountered French expedition in Géographe under command of Nicholas Baudin: named Encounter Bay 9 May 1802 9 May 1802 Event - Arrived in Port Jackson 22 July 1802 22 July 1802 Event - Departed Port Jackson for circumnavigation of the continent 9 June 1803 9 June 1803 Event - Returned to Port Jackson August 1803 August 1803 Event - Flinders departed New South Wales for the United Kingdom December 1803 December 1803 Event - Flinders arrested on Ile de France October 1805 October 1805 Event - Brown and Bauer arrive at the Port of Liverpool, United Kingdom 1810 1810 Event - Sold by the Royal Navy and returned to mercantile service October 1810 October 1810 Event - Flinders arrived back in United Kingdom c. 1872 c. 1872 Event - Broken up Franklin, John (1786 - 1847)

Midshipman 1801 - 1804

Good, Peter (? - 1803)

Collector 1801 - 1803

Bauer, Ferdinand Lukas (1760 - 1826)

Natural history artist 1801 - 1805

Brown, Robert (1773 - 1858)

Botanist 1801 - 1805

Flinders, Matthew (1774 - 1814)

Commander 1801 - 1803

'H.M.S. Investigator', in Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation, Centre for Transformative Innovation, Swinburne University of Technology H.M.S. Investigator Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Transformative Innovation Encyclopedia of Australian Science and Innovation Book Section: Robert Brown on HMS Investigator 1801 - 1805: an overview of the natural history collecting localities Moore, David T. Robert Brown on HMS Investigator 1801 - 1805: an overview of the natural history collecting localities Perth Western Australian Museum 2006 Matthew Flinders and his scientific gentlemen: the expedition of HMS Investigator to Australia, 1801-05 Wege, Juliette 49-65 Book: A voyage to terra australis : undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802, and 1803, in His Majesty's ship the Investigator [etc] Flinders, Matthew A voyage to terra australis : undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802, and 1803, in His Majesty's ship the Investigator [etc] London G. and W. Nicol 1814 Edited Book: Matthew Flinders and his scientific gentlemen: the expedition of HMS Investigator to Australia, 1801-05 Wege, Juliette Matthew Flinders and his scientific gentlemen: the expedition of HMS Investigator to Australia, 1801-05 Perth Western Australian Museum 2006 Journal Article: Finding longitude: the Investigator expedition, 1801 - 1803 Morgan, Kenneth Finding longitude: the Investigator expedition, 1801 - 1803 2017 International Journal of Maritime History 29 4 771-87 Journal Article: Sir Joseph Banks as patron of the Investigator expedition: natural history, geographical knowledge and Australian exploration Morgan, Kenneth Sir Joseph Banks as patron of the Investigator expedition: natural history, geographical knowledge and Australian exploration 2014 International journal of maritime history 26 235-64 Book: A voyage to Terra Australis : undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802 and 1803, in His Majesty's ship the Investigator, and subsequently in the armed vessel Porpoise and Cumberland schooner : with an account of the shipwreck of the Porpoise, arrival of the Cumberland at Mauritius, and imprisonment of the commander during six years and a half in that island Flinders, Matthew A voyage to Terra Australis : undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802 and 1803, in His Majesty's ship the Investigator, and subsequently in the armed vessel Porpoise and Cumberland schooner : with an account of the shipwreck of the Porpoise, arrival of the Cumberland at Mauritius, and imprisonment of the commander during six years and a half in that island facsimile Adelaide Libraries Board of South Australia 1966 Book: The Investigator in Port Phillip, April-May 1802 Flinders, Matthew The Investigator in Port Phillip, April-May 1802 Malvern Banks Society Publications 2002 Book: The voyage of the Investigator 1801 - 1803, Commander Matthew Flinders, R.N. Austin, K. A. The voyage of the Investigator 1801 - 1803, Commander Matthew Flinders, R.N. Adelaide Rigby Limited 1964 Book: Australia circumnavigated: the voyage of Matthew Flinders in HMS Investigator, 1801-1803 Flinders, Matthew: edited by Morgan, Kenneth Australia circumnavigated: the voyage of Matthew Flinders in HMS Investigator, 1801-1803 London Haklyut Society 2015 Journal Article: The Botanical Legacy of 1802: South Australian Plants Collected by Robert Brown and Peter Good on Matthew Flinders' Investigator and by the French Scientists on Baudin's Géographe and Naturaliste Barker, Robyn M. The Botanical Legacy of 1802: South Australian Plants Collected by Robert Brown and Peter Good on Matthew Flinders' Investigator and by the French Scientists on Baudin's Géographe and Naturaliste 2007 Journal of the Adelaide Botanic Gardens 21 4-55 Journal Article: Revisiting inscriptions on the Investigator Tree on Sweers Island, Gulf of Carpentaria Collins, S. J.; Mate, G.; and Ulm, S. Revisiting inscriptions on the Investigator Tree on Sweers Island, Gulf of Carpentaria 2020 Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 124 137-64 Journal Article: Robert Brown (1773-1858) and the natural history of Matthew Flinders' voyage in H.M.S. Investigator, 1801-1805 Edwards, P. I. Robert Brown (1773-1858) and the natural history of Matthew Flinders' voyage in H.M.S. Investigator, 1801-1805 1976 Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History 7 4 385-407 Book Section: Matthew Flinders: the man and his life Estensen, Miriam Matthew Flinders: the man and his life Perth Western Australian Museum 2006 Matthew Flinders and his Scientific Gentlemen: the Expedition of HMS Investigator to Australia, 1801-05 Wege, Juliette 1-11 Journal Article: A synopsis of dated entries in the biological collecting notes from eastern and northern Australia made by Robert Brown (1773-1858) on the Investigator voyage of 1801-1805 Moore, D. T. A synopsis of dated entries in the biological collecting notes from eastern and northern Australia made by Robert Brown (1773-1858) on the Investigator voyage of 1801-1805 2002 Archives of Natural History 29 3 383-98 Book: A very secret trade: the dark story of gentlemen collectors in Tasmania Pybus, Cassandra A very secret trade: the dark story of gentlemen collectors in Tasmania Sydney Allen & Unwin 2024 Book Section: Flinders' place in the coastal exploration of Australia Sexton, Robert T. Flinders' place in the coastal exploration of Australia Perth Western Australian Museum 2006 Matthew Flinders and his scientific gentlemen: the expedition of HMS Investigator to Australia, 1801-05 Wege, Juliette 39-47 Journal Article: Geological Aspects of the Voyage of H.M.S. Investigator in Australian Waters, 1801-5 Vallance, T. G.; and Moore, D. T. Geological Aspects of the Voyage of H.M.S. Investigator in Australian Waters, 1801-5 1982 Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History): Historical Series 10 1 1-43 Book: Nature's Investigator: the Diary of Robert Brown in Australia, 1801-1805 Vallance, T. G.; Moore, D.T.; and Groves, E. W. Nature's Investigator: the Diary of Robert Brown in Australia, 1801-1805 Canberra Australian Biological Resources Study 2001 Book Section: Peter Good: gardener on a voyage of discovery Webb, Mark Peter Good: gardener on a voyage of discovery Perth Werstern Australian Museum 2006 Matthew Flinders and his scientific gentlemen: the expedition of HMS Investigator to Australia, 1801-05 Wege, Juliette 97-103 Journal Article: Robert Brown's zoological collections made during the voyage of "Investigator" Kinnear, N. B. Robert Brown's zoological collections made during the voyage of "Investigator" 1931 Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London 144 33-8