By Josephine Lim and Shannon Pearce, ABC
The lead breast plate being lifted out of the grave of Captain Matthew Flinders during the HS2 archaeological investigations at St James's Gardens in London on January 18, 2019. Photo: AFP / HS2 Ltd
A renowned explorer who gave Australia its name has been reburied in the village of his birth in the United Kingdom.
Captain Matthew Flinders, who was the first person to circumnavigate Australia, was laid to rest in a "emotional" ceremony at Donington in Lincolnshire about 185 kilometres north of London on Saturday, UK time.
The reinterment was a long time coming after his remains were lost in the mid-1800s and only discovered in 2019 in London during excavations for the HS2 high-speed rail line.
Thousands lined the streets of Donington as Royal Navy sailors and officers marched through with the coffin.
The Governor of South Australia, Frances Adamson, was among Australian dignitaries who attended the service at the local church.
"This funeral, in a way, or this service of thanksgiving and dedication, took place 210 years after Matthew Flinders died and was originally buried," Adamson said.
"I think there was a real sense of a homecoming to the town where he was born and where he was educated."
Adamson told the ABC the explorer left "a real mark in what we now call Australia".
"His views were persuasive in moving the name from Terra Australis to Australia," she said.
"It wasn't known until then just how big Australia was.
"I think there's quite a deal of inspiration to be drawn from the adversity that he faced, the ways in which he looked after his crew, the mapping skills that he showed, his absolute determination.
"The hope is that some of the achievements that we can now look back on, and realise the significance of, will now become more widely recognised in the United Kingdom, as well as in Australia."
A stamp printed in Australia, shows the portrait of Captain Matthew Flinders. Photo: 123rf
Flinders University chancellor John Hood said there was much pomp and circumstances in the village welcoming the return of Captain Flinders to his birthplace.
He said a full military and gun salute was held while the gardens of houses and local businesses were covered in Australian and British flags.
"It's taken until now for the good people of Donington to organise to bring him home to be buried close to his family," Hood said.
"It was a moment of deep reflection, the ability to stand at the grave of someone who's remains have been returned home and to see the reality of what was actually a fully recreated coffin replica of the coffin they allege he was buried in back in 1814."
Coffin plate brought back to SA
Captain Flinders was 40 years old when he died in 1814 but his grave was lost around 1852.
More than two centuries after his death, archaeologists were able to confirm his remains from a lead breast plate with legible writing on his coffin.
The SA governor will bring the breast plate back to the state and said it would likely be permanently on display at the Maritime Museum.
"The only reason they were able to recognise it was because of the lead breast plate with the words of his life and death on it, and that lead breast plate was on top of the coffin," she said.
"The story, the breast plate itself and other objects will be something that I hope will really spark the imagination of people in South Australia and particularly school students."
Fiona Salmon, a descendent of Captain Flinders and the director of Flinders University's Art Museum, has facilitated the donation of the explorer's personal compass and three jacket buttons to the university.
The university is hoping to mount an exhibition this year alongside other artefacts including letters and a coral necklace from Captain Flinders to his wife, his books and journals as well as other personal effects.
Hood said he hoped the university would be able to have the breast plate and other artefacts on loan "from time to time".
- This story was first published by ABC
