Euston Station
<p>"In commemoration of CAPTAIN MATTHEW FLINDERS RN 1774-1814 who named Australia and charted its unknown coast with the help of Bungaree and the crew of HM Sloop Investigator"
"Trim, his close companion"
</p><p>Sculptor: Mark Richards FDRBS
Unveiled by HRH The Duke of Cambridge in July 2014.
</p><p>Captain Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was an English navigator and cartographer who led the first inshore circumnavigation of the landmass that is now known as Australia.
</p><p>The large bronze statue of Flinders by the sculptor Mark Richards also depicts his beloved cat Trim, "the best and most illustrious of his Race, the most affectionate of friends, faithful of servants, and best of creatures", who accompanied him on his voyages. Trim was born in 1799 aboard the ship HMS Reliance on a voyage from the Cape of Good Hope to Botany Bay. The kitten fell overboard, but managed to swim back to the vessel and climb aboard by scaling a rope. Taking note of his strong survival instinct and intelligence, Flinders and the crew made him their favourite. Trim sailed with Flinders on HMS Investigator on his voyage of circumnavigation around the Australian mainland and survived the shipwreck of HMS Porpoise on Wreck Reef in 1803. When Flinders was accused of spying and imprisoned by the French in Mauritius on his return voyage to England, Trim shared his captivity until his unexplained disappearance, which Flinders attributed to his having been stolen and eaten by a hungry slave
</p><p>An Act of Parliament allowed the Vestry of St James's Piccadilly to purchase land in 1788 close to the present-day Euston Station as an additional burial ground. It was in use from 1790 to 1853. It was in this cemetery that Flinders was buried. In 1887 the majority of the monuments and tombstones were removed and it opened as a public garden, known as St James's Gardens. The location of Flinders' grave was lost by the mid-19th century but archaeologists, excavating the former burial ground for the High Speed 2 project, announced in January 2019 that his remains had been identified.
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Following the discovery of his grave, the parish church of Donington, Lincolnshire, Flinders' birthplace, saw a surge of visitors. The 'Matthew Flinders Bring Him Home Group' and the Britain-Australia Society, as well as Flinders' direct descendants, campaigned to have his remains interred at the Church of St Mary and the Holy Rood in Donington. On 17 October 2019 HS2 Ltd announced that Flinders remains could be reinterred in the church in Donington, where he was baptised. Permission has been given by the Diocese of Lincoln for reburial in the north aisle.
amandabhslater
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