Discovery of Memory Cove Inscription

On Sunday, February 21, 1897— by the way, the accident happened on a Sunday and the 135th anniversary date (this year, 1937) also fell on a Sunday — a Government party consisting of Mr. Thomas Gill (Under Treasurer, who also represented the S.A. Branch of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia), Mr. Alfred Vaughan (Government photographer), Mr. Dabovich (Inspector of Oyster Fisheries) who was well known at Port Lincoln, were at Memory Cove, and there erected the fresh tablet, affixed to a large block of jarrah, to replace as far as possible the post and tablet erected there by Flinders in 1802.

In a review of the catastrophe Mr. Gill tells how the new post was erected and of the members of the small party drinking to the memory of Flinders and the drowned. The tablet was said to have been placed in a prominent position on the beach and out of reach of the tides. A photo of the scene was taken, showing Mr. Gill lovingly carrying his volume of Flinders' "Terra Australis" from which he had reverently read to his companions Flinders' account ; alongside of him is I think Mr. Dabovich ; the replaced tablet occupies the centre of the picture and on the other side two others, possibly the boats crew. Presumably Mr. Vaughan would be at the camera taking the valuable photo.

SEARCH FOR INSCRIPTION

The "Register" correspondent, previously referred to, probably seven or eight years afterwards favored us little further light. He stated that at the bottom of the new plate was this inscription "erected by the Survey Department, W. Strawbridge Surveyor General," and proceeded to say "a curious anachronism, as the plate bears the old date 1802. The Government defrayed the small cost of the restoration."

It was said that the party searched everywhere for signs of the old post or its position, but not a trace was found. Surely the searchers were expecting too much after 96 years of storm — of wind and rain and sea. Although the substituted tablet had been erected, some devoted admirer or admirers of Flinders, were after a time dissatisfied with the position.

The Public Library Board continued its efforts to ascertain the correct inscription and enlisted the services of the "New York Herald" through Sir William Sowden, on the chance that some of the American whalers might have copied the inscription. This publicity together with enquiries instituted by the Director of the New York Public Library on the board's behalf, were without result.

In 1923-4 prominence was again given in the local press to the tablet and the board decided to approach the Admiralties of Great Britain, France and the United States of America, asking that their records might be searched for anything which would be a help to decide on the correct inscription. Although the Admiralty (London) had in 1891 reported failure to get any clue, the last attempt was more successful. The general secretary to the board received from the Admiralty a letter dated March 1, 1924, forwarding a photostat copy of the page of the log of H.M.S. Investigator giving the details required.''

The fifty-eight years of fitful search was rewarded at last.

ORIGINAL LOG DISCOVERED

According to Flinders' log the wording is as below, but in engraving the copper plate the line by line arrangement was departed from, and some of the words shortened.

Memory Cove
His Majesty's ship Investigator,
Mattw. Flinders Commander,
Anchored here February 22, 1802.
Mr. John Thistle, the Master,— Mr. William Tapley, Midshipman and six of the crew were most unfortunately drowned near this place from being upset in a boat.
The wreck of the boat was found, but their bodies were not recovered.
Nautici Cavete !

After the receipt of the photostat from the Admiralty it was discovered that the trustees of the Mitchell Library, Sydney, had been in possession of the original copy of Flinders' log for a number of years. In 1925 our local board of the Public Library got a photostat from them of the pages referring to Memory Cove and the memorable encounter between the Investigator and Le Geographe at Encounter Bay. A comparison of the two logs revealed some slight differences in the inscription, but only in the line for line arrangement and the contraction of some of the words, so that the Mitchell Library copy, can be taken as more nearly representing the correct wording of the original tablet.

The president of the Royal Geographical Society of Australasia (S.A. Branch) in his address in 1933-34 made reference to the differences in these two logs, and stated that it was customary for the naval officer on watch to write up rough notes of events as they occurred, then for someone to write up a more or less clean copy, possibly extending the entries. Later a clean copy of the log was written up for depositing with the Admiralty. We are fortunate to know that both of these two latter logs of Flinders are extant and both appear to be in the hand writing of Captain Matthew Flinders. The writing in the two logs has been compared with letters from Flinders, facsimiles of which appear in Scott's "Life of Matthew Flinders," and competent authorities are of the opinion that the hand writing in the three is the same. The log in the Mitchell Library has many corrections, interpolations and so on which were incorporated in the clean copy eventually deposited with the Admiralty.