The Navigators: Baudin vs Flinders

This two-part documentary series celebrates the 200th anniversary of the great voyages of discovery by Matthew Flinders (1774-1814) and Nicolas Baudin (1750-1803), leaders of two separate expeditions, one English, the other French, which were sent out by their governments in 1801 to chart the unknown southern coast of Australia and collect botanical specimens. Britain was intent on remaining the leading maritime power. She also needed somewhere to dump her undesirables and convicts having lost her penal colonies in North America after the War of Independence, while France, stripped of her Canadian colonies by England, was seeking a ‘New France’ in the south. Both nations were also desirous of enhancing their Museum collections with specimens from all the Natural History sciences. Their expeditions ranged the Pacific Ocean and, gradually, their maps defined the elusive southern continent, Terra Australis Incognita. The series focuses on the great hardships faced by the ambitious rival captains and their impressive achievements which have largely been overlooked by history. Narrated by Adrian Mulraney. A companion website is available at: http://www.abc.net.au/navigators