The remains of Matthew Flinders have been found beneath a London train station, ending a 170-year mystery.

Captain Matthew Flinders is famous for sailing around Australia in the early 1800s, proving to the Europeans that Australia was a single continent, rather than two separate landmasses.

He died in 1814 but his headstone was removed from St James’ Burial Ground during the expansion of Euston Station, and his remains were believed to be lost.

Archaeologists working on England’s high-speed rail project uncovered dozens of graves but they say a lead breastplate worn by Captain Flinders when he was buried was the lucky break they needed to identify him.

NSW State Library curator Margot Riley tells Ben Fordham the body will be reburied after an investigation into Flinders’ cause of death.

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