On this day, 17 August 1813, Matthew Flinders wrote one of the most important letters in Australian history — a passionate appeal to Sir Joseph Banks defending his choice of the name Australia.
Flinders had proposed the name in his manuscript A Voyage to Terra Australis, arguing that the continent needed a single, accurate, unifying title rather than the confusing mix of New Holland (Dutch) and New South Wales (British). However, Banks disapproved of the term Terra Australis and resisted Flinders’ preferred name. In response, Flinders penned a determined letter explaining why Australia was the most fitting name for the land he had circumnavigated and charted with scientific precision.
August 16, 2026 609 6
