Encounter Bay

     In 1802 Matthew Flinders (1774-1814) and Nicholas Baudin (1758-1803), explorers for Great Britain and France, met at Encounter Bay. The stamps issued jointly by Australia and France mark the 200th anniversary of that meeting.

     The map on the stamp honoring Nicholas Baudin is Carte Generale de la Nouvell Hollande, plate 1 in Louis de Freycinet's Voyage de decouvertes aux terres, published in 1811. The map shows Encounter Bay on the south coast of Australia. The portrait is that of Baudin, and the ship is La Géographe. The Kagaroo, of course, refers to their meeting on Kagaroo Island.

     The map on the stamp honoring Matthew Flinders is Flinders' General Chart of Terra Australis. The whole Australian continent is shown with a red dot marking the location of Encounter Bay. The portrait is that of Flinders, and the ship is H.M.S. Investigator. For more information on Flinders' expedition and stamps click here. The bird is a Port Lincoln Parrot.