The Times reports today that a statue of Captain Matthew Flinders RN will be erected next year, the 200th anniversary of his death, outside Euston Station, underneath which he is buried.
Flinders, little known or remembered now in Britain, is greatly honoured in Australia where he is as renowned as Captain Cook for his epic circumnavigation of Australia, which established that Australia was an island. It was he who campaigned for the land to be named Australia rather than New Holland.
The Times has a Paywall but you can see a maquette of the statue here:
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/news/worl ... 834099.eceAn account of his amazing life and adventures can be read on wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_FlindersFlinders' beloved cat Trim, who accompanied him on many adventures, including a period of detention on Mauritius, is also commemorated, sitting alongside Flinders' statue, and has his own wiki entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trim_%28cat%29Flinders wrote a short biography of Trim, which I, being a cat lover, have ordered.
Here is Flinders' obituary written for Trim:
TO THE MEMORY OF TRIM
The best and most illustrious of his race
The most affectionate of friends,
faithful of servants,
and best of creatures
He made the tour of the globe, and a voyage to Australia,
which he circumnavigated, and was ever the
delight and pleasure of his fellow voyagers.'