Matthew Flinders was a country boy who wanted to be a sailor. He lived at a time when ocean voyages took months, sometimes years. His life at sea was full of adventure and danger. He was the first to sail all the way around Australia. He drew the first complete map of the continent. Sailing was a dangerous business in Matthew's time that could end in shipwreck, disease or death. He wanted to make it safer for sailors by making his map as accurate as possible.