It is a privilege for our Society to welcome you here today and especially to welcome the Earl of Wessex to the site where 200 years ago, an Englishman arrived in a small, leaking boat and ended up staying six-and-a-half years. Happily times have changed, and I don't expect that our President, Sir Anerood, will insist on such a long sojourn by our royal guest, this time.
The story of Matthew Flinders is truly remarkable. As a youth of 15 years old, Flinders went to sea, and served under the celebrated Captain Bligh, later saw battle and surveyed parts of Oceania. In 1801, following Captain Nicolas Baudin, Flinders traversed three oceans; the Atlantic, the Indian and the Pacific. He was first to circumnavigate Australia, was shipwrecked and paddled 700 miles to find land and save his men. He mapped unexplored and treacherous coastlines with great accuracy. He made contact with Aboriginal people unknown to the rest of the world and saw strange, new creatures unknown to science. He met Captain Baudin by chance - an encounter of the most remarkable kind. Finally, on his return journey he was forced in at Baie du Cap by a leaking vessel. At this time he was only 29 years old.
Matthew Flinders had left a young wife in England, he spoke no French, and he was highly motivated to get back to Britain to publish his maps and discoveries. But, Governor-General Decaen, convinced he was a British spy, refused to let him continue his journey. His detention on Ile de France is the subject of two excellent studies by Huguette Ly Tio Fane and Marina Carter, tell us how Flinders coped. Anger, despair, hope and finally resignation, he spent two years in detention in Port Louis and then more than four years on parole on the estate of Madame d'Arifat near the Mare aux Vacoas. From there, he walked many of the surrounding areas. Grand Bassin, the Sept Cascades, down to Yemen and Tamarin, to Moka, across to Mesnil at Eau Coulée where he found the ruins of La Pérouse's homestead. Flinders caused a monument to be erected for La Pérouse - the first memorial ever made in Mauritius. Flinders also provides the only detailed historical description of a maroon slave hideaway, which were caves near Flic-en-Flac. Recent studies just completed by the National Heritage Trust have explored these caves and found indications substantiating Flinders' accounts.
The most remarkable factor in Flinders' stay in Ile de France, is that despite being a loyal British naval captain, he made firm friends with equally patriotic French citizens including many military and naval officers, during a period when the two countries were nearly always at war. His intellect thirsted for stimulation - he found this in the "Société d'Emulation" and "la Table Ovale" with Jacques Mallac, Thomi and Charles Pitot. His quest for discovery was shared with Barthélemy de Froberville and Charles Baudin. His musical sensitivities with the d'Arifat, Rouillard and Chazal families. He picnicked in the grounds of Le Réduit, the Governor's country estate, which was then under renovation - times haven't changed much, have they? He danced at the Couve's home and learnt French with the d'Arifat girls. He took solace when he was lonely by playing his flute and composing music, some of which we will hear in a moment.