A direct descendant of the first British explorer to identify Australia as a continent says finding his remains was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

More than 216 years after Matthew Flinders became the first person to circumnavigate Australia, his body has been found at a burial site underneath a London train station.

Descendant John Flinders tells Chris Smith the find is unexpected and very exciting.

“A total needle in the haystack scenario…”

“It was understood that he’d been dug up… and taken away elsewhere in the middle 1800s or perhaps he was still underneath Euston Station.

“We now know he was lying there waiting to be discovered.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview