John White and Matthew Flinders, voyageurs avantureux in New South Wales 1788-1799

The Cowlishaw Library at the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons contains John White's journal, which describes the voyage of the First Fleet of 1787 and of which he was Principal Surgeon. He travelled on the transport Charlotte and on arrival at Port Jackson he became Surgeon General to the colony. His medical activities were diverse, and in addition he discovered and named many species of plants and animals and undertook several local explorations. His journal contains 64 beautiful drawings of local flora and fauna. Matthew Flinders arrived in Sydney in 1795 in company with surgeon, George Bass. They circumnavigated Tasmania in 1798. He also sailed north and searched for a river in southeast Queensland and explored much of Moreton Bay. In 1801 Matthew Flinders commenced his epic voyage of circumnavigation of Terra Australis. In returning to England he was imprisoned in Mauritius but finally arrived in England, and his remarkable Journal to Terra Australis was published in 1814 on the day he died. He was the first person to name the continent 'Australia'.