1808 and returned to Europe. If the crew of the Venus had indeed been captured then none of the 25 survived. Adventurer Jørgen Jørgensen wrote about Bass in his 1835 autobiography, claiming Bass had attempted forced trade at gunpoint in Chile, and was captured when he let his guard down. Jørgensen probably met Bass, but this account is almost certainly an invention. Jørgensen's writing, though entertaining, was often far from factual. A search of Spanish archives in 1903 by scholar Pascual de Gayangos and a search of Peruvian archives in 2003 by historian Jorge Ortiz-Sotelo found no mention of Bass. His ultimate fate remains a mystery. Recognition Australia Post honoured George Bass in 1963 with a postage stamp, and again in 1998 in association with Matthew Flinders. A re-enactment of the whaleboat voyage marked the 200th anniversary of Bass's voyage; the "Elizabeth" skippered by Bern Cuthbertson arrived at Western Port on 5 January 1998. A plaque memorialising this was added to the Bass and Flinders memorial at Flinders. The following places commemorate the name of George Bass: Bass Highway (Tasmania) Bass Highway (Victoria) Bass Hill, New South Wales Bass Point Bass Strait Bass River Bass, Victoria (town) Division of Bass, Tasmania (federal) Division of Bass, Tasmania (state) Bass and Flinders Point, Cronulla, New South Wales George Bass Drive, Batehaven to Moruya Airport, Batemans Bay, New South Wales Bass Islands (French Polynesia) See also List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea Notes References Keith Macrae Bowden: George Bass 1771–1803: His Discoveries, Romantic Life and Tragic Disappearance. – London, Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1952 by Ernest Scott Attribution External links 1771 births 1800s missing person cases 1803 deaths Bass Strait English emigrants to colonial Australia English hydrographers Explorers of Australia Explorers of Tasmania Lost explorers Maritime exploration of Australia Missing person cases in Australia People educated at Boston Grammar School People from North Kesteven District People lost at sea Royal Navy Medical Service officers Military personnel from Lincolnshire