Explorer Matthew Flinders, who named Australia, to be reburied in British home village
- His remains were found in London in January, during excavation for the HS2 high-speed rail project
- Royal Navy captain circumnavigated Australia in 1802-1803, proving it was a continent
The remains of the first British explorer to circumnavigate Australia are to be reburied in his home village after being discovered near a busy London railway station.
The grave of Captain Matthew Flinders, who popularised Australia’s name, was discovered in January in a built-over former burial ground behind Euston terminus.
The site was being excavated for the HS2 high-speed rail project, which will eventually link London with Birmingham and Manchester.
Flinders died aged 40 on July 19, 1814 – the day after the publication of A Voyage to Terra Australis, which described his 1802-1803 circumnavigation of Australia and proved that it was a continent.
With an estimated 40,000 remains at the former Saint James’s Church burial ground, archaeologists were not sure they were going to find Flinders, whose resting place had been subject to much speculation.
However, the ornate lead nameplate on his coffin was well-preserved, enabling archaeologists to identify the grave.