MATTHEW FLINDERS

• JOSHUA WILLETT, Grade 6
• Poetry
• 2009

Matthew Flinders was a skilled navigator
Who sailed in a large, wooden ship called Investigator
Around the small continent he named Australia
He also circumnavigated the island of Tasmania

Flinders was shipwrecked on the rugged Barrier Reef
When he received another ship he was filled with relief
As he headed home to England, disaster struck
Because of a war between England and France, he ran out of luck

Flinders was imprisoned in France for six and a half years
When he finally saw his family there were lots of tears
He published his detailed maps and interesting story
Then sadly he died in 1814, at the age of forty