August is one of my favourite months; it is officially the last month of winter. A month when we can sip a warm drink, with the added comfort that there will be new beginnings with Spring just around the corner. Over 120 years ago, August also heralded a new beginning that would have a profound impact on all Australians…
On August 17, 1813, a frustrated yet determined Matthew Flinders penned a letter to the influential naturalist Sir Joseph Banks. In it, he made a passionate case for something more than just cartographic accuracy — he proposed a name for the continent he had sailed around and studied with care: Australia. More than two centuries later, that name has become part of the national identity. But the story behind it is often overlooked — and it all began with a letter.
From New Holland to Australia
Long before Federation or even official maps bearing the name we now know, the continent we call Australia was a land of conflicting colonial labels. The Dutch referred to it as New Holland after their early 17th-century explorations of the western coast of the continent. When Captain James Cook claimed the eastern shore for Britain in 1770, he named it New South Wales. As colonisation expanded, the two names were used side by side — a fragmented identity for a vast land.
Enter Matthew Flinders: British navigator, skilled cartographer, and the first person to circumnavigate the entire continent between 1801 and 1803. His journey confirmed that this was not a collection of large islands, but one connected landmass — a great southern land worthy of a unified name.
The August 1813 Letter
After returning to England and beginning work on his book A Voyage to Terra Australis, Flinders proposed the name “Australia” as a fitting term to describe the continent in full. But he met resistance from none other than Sir Joseph Banks, a key figure in scientific and colonial circles. On August 17, 1813, Flinders expressed his disappointment in a letter to Banks, writing:
“I will not disguise, that my chagrin was no less, to learn … that the term Terra Australis, as a name for New Holland and New South Wales collectively was not approved.”
Flinders went on to explain his reasons — clarity, accuracy, and a desire for a name that reflected the entirety of the land. Despite his efforts, the name was not immediately accepted in Britain.
A Legacy Embraced
It wasn’t until Governor Lachlan Macquarie read Flinders’ work that the tide began to turn. Macquarie recognised the merit in the name Australia, and in 1817 he began using it officially. Gradually, the name gained acceptance — first in colonial documents and later on maps and public records. Flinders did not live to see his preferred name adopted widely. He died in 1814, just a day after his book was published. But the impact of his advocacy endured.
Why It Matters Today
Place names are powerful. They shape how we see landscapes, people, and history. Flinders’ campaign for Australia marked a shift toward unity — but it also reminds us how names can reflect colonisation, identity, and control. Today, heritage professionals are working alongside Traditional Owners to recognise Indigenous place names and restore language to Country. The story of Australia’s name is just one part of a deeper conversation about whose voices are heard, and whose stories are told.
The name Australia may seem natural now, but it was once a contested idea, carried forward by a letter and a legacy. In August 1813, Matthew Flinders made a bold suggestion — and changed the course of history and fundamentally changed the way we see ourselves.