Flinders and Port 16
Port 16 … is this Matthew Flinder’s most important discovery?
In 1802 when Matthew Flinders began his journey that resulted in the first circumnavigation of our continent he made one discovery that he prosaically labelled as Port 16. We know it better as Port Phillip.
Following maps and guides provided by George Bass, Flinders at first imagined that he was entering Western Port, when he passed through the heads. However, the significant rise and fall of the tides that Bass had recorded did not match what he was encountering. As he moved into the Bay proper it was clear to Flinders that this was a bay that had not been explored by either Bass nor the French explorer Boudain.
In this short but informative video Harry Roberts, society member and current President, gives the viewer the context behind the discovery and then provides a clear precis of Matthew Finders exploration of the coastline of the Bellarine Peninsula and then his climb to the top of the You Yangs. It also provides the earliest written record of European contact with the Wadawurrung people.
