Trim was the ship’s cat under the command of Matthew Flinders on voyages to circumnavigate and
map the coastline of Australia from 1801 to 1803. He was therefore the first cat to circumnavigate
Australia. Sadly, it seems he was stolen and eaten by hungry slaves. A statue to Trim was later erected,
and he has been the subject of a number of works of literature. A statue sits on a window sill on the
outside of the Sydney Library, in Sydney, Australia. The plaque on Trim’s statue reads
TO THE MEMORY OF TRIM
The best and most illustrious of his race
The most affectionate of friends,
faithful of servants,
and best of creatures
He made the tour of the globe, and a voyage to Australia,
which he circumnavigated, and was ever the
delight and pleasure of his fellow voyagers . . . .
Written by Matthew Flinders in memory of his cat
Captain Matthew Flinders
Matthew Flinders (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814) was a British navigator and cartographer who led
the first inshore navigation of mainland Australia . He is also credited as being the first person to use
the name Australia to describe the entirety of that continent , a title he regarded as being "more
agreeable to the ear" than Terra Australis . In a little open boat called the "Tom Thumb" he set sail with
his cat Trim to chart the entire Australian coast line. He is relatively unknown to the rest of the world
but Down Under he and his cat Trim are national heroes.They have been the subjects of many books.
CINQUAIN
our matt
my kind of guy
loved cats and open boats
an inspiration to us all
thanks matt
SHADORMA
dinky di
so proud of you matt
a true blue
bonza bloke
who loved his pussy cat trim
an aussie hero
On the return to England in 1803 Flinders stopped off in Mauritius for
repairs. Away at sea and without
news, he was not aware that England and France were now at war and he was arrested as a spy on
arrival in this French colony. His incarceration would last almost 7 years.
england was at war again
with the french
pity matt didn't know
d i y repairs at sea
could have spared him
croissants for breakfast
year in year out
I enjoyed learning about Matthew Flinders and his cat Trim. (Sad about his death though...his owner must have been heartbroken.)How wonderful that Trim has a statue in his honor! Few animals achieve such fame.
ReplyDeleteHa! So much history I didn't know! Thank you for bringing Tink and Matt, and celebrating them as Aussie heroes. I like the statue and the poster of Tink, especially. And I wouldn't mind croissants for breakfast everyday for 7 years---hmmm. Maybe I would.
ReplyDeleteThe anonymous one was me . . .
ReplyDeleteWow! This is all new information to me that I am so glad you told us about. I am glad Trim is suitably honoured for his place in history - terrible to think he was eaten!!!! Such an interesting post, Rall. Loved it.
ReplyDeleteI love your take on the prompt - made me smile. And thank you for the comment hopefully Old Egg will see your reply on my blog - thank you - Jae
ReplyDeleteNice tribute to Aussie heroes. But the sad end of Trim is horrifying.
ReplyDeleteI love the background information, Rall, but I love the cat so much more, being a cat owner and lover. Poor Trim, though, going from being the first cat to circumnavigate Australia to a meal for hungry slaves. I’m so glad he has both statue and plaque! Your cinquain made me smile and the shadorma made me grin.
ReplyDeleteOh my .... now that is a memorable poem - especially to a black cat partner like myself (no one owns a cat ... of course) ... A wonderful tribute to Trim...!
ReplyDelete