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In 1814 Captain Matthew Flinders published his journal 'A Voyage to Terra Australis'. In this journal he describes the circumnavigation of the Australian continent and his imprisonment on Mauritius. To commemorate the bicentennial of the journal's publication the Royal Australian Mint has created a design that is offered as a one dollar privy mark set or silver proof or as a ten dollar gold proof. The reverse features a depiction of the HMS Investigator alongside a map of Australia with the legend "A VOYAGE TO TERRA AUSTRALIS," "1814 - 2014". The obverse houses the Ian-Rank Broadley portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II with the legend "ELIZABETH II AUSTRALIA 2014". This coin was issued with five privy-mark varieties; Perth (P), Melbourne (M), Canberra (C), Brisbane (B), and Sydney (S).
Captain Matthew Flinders was an English navigator and cartographer who is famed for his efforts in mapping and exploring the Australian continent. After working with George Bass to confirm that Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania) was an island the British Government asked Flinders to circumnavigate Australia. His ship was the Investigator and he travelled to Australia and began the voyage starting from Sydney sailing north in 1802. The charts that he made during this voyage were amazingly accurate, so much so that they were used as reference for many years to come. By June 1803, he had returned to Sydney, thus proving that Australia was indeed just one island. Later in 1803, Flinders was captured on the French island of Mauritius and held prisoner for seven years. This was to be a harrowing experience for him and led to his decline in health. He did, however, write a book which was published on the same day as he died. The book was called A Voyage to Terra Australis.
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