Contributing

What happened on Beacon Island?

What happened on Beacon Island?

A shipwreck turns to tragedy Almost 400 years ago, in the hours before dawn on 4 June 1629, a flagship of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) was wrecked upon Morning Reef near Beacon Island, some 60 kilometres off the Western Australian coast.

Where is the replica of the Batavia?

A replica of the Batavia was built at the Bataviawerf (Batavia Wharf) in Lelystad in the Netherlands and was launched in 1995 under master-shipbuilder Willem Vos. A replica of the longboat was also constructed and is presently on exhibition at the WA Museum in Geraldton.

Who found the Batavia shipwreck?

Francisco Pelsaert
Finding themselves stranded and without water, the ship’s Commander Francisco Pelsaert, the ship’s skipper, Ariaen Jacobsz, and 35 others set sail in two open long boats to fetch help.

What happened to the crew of the Batavia?

On 4 June 1629, Batavia struck Morning Reef near Beacon Island, part of the Houtman Abrolhos off the Western Australian coast. Of the 322 aboard, most of the passengers and crew managed to get ashore, although 40 people drowned.

How long did it take to sail from Amsterdam to Batavia?

Bruijn notes that in 1802, after the VOC went bankrupt, four Dutch ships sailed from Holland to Batavia in 175 days on average, including a stay at the Cape.

How many islands are in the Abrolhos?

Park Information. The Abrolhos is an archipelago of 210 islands extending more than 100km from north to south and situated 60 to 80km off the mid-west coast of Western Australia.

What is Batavia now called?

Jakarta
Batavia was renamed Jakarta. The economic situation and the physical condition of Indonesian cities deteriorated during the occupation.

Who found the gilt dragon?

The wreck, the first of the Dutch and English East India ships found on the Western Australian coast, was discovered by five spear-fishermen (John Cowen; Jim, Alan and Graeme Henderson; and Alan Robinson ) in April 1963.

How deep is the Batavia shipwreck?

four to six metres
With tales of murderous mutiny, the Batavia Shipwreck off the coast of Geraldton is one of Western Australia’s best known historic dive sites. The ship lies in four to six metres of clear Indian Ocean making it an excellent dive spot for people of all diving abilities.

What did the Dutch need that the Khoikhoi had?

The Khoikhoi were nomadic and felt they should have free access to all the land in the area to graze their cattle, as had been the case up to that point, while the Dutch farmers had been given land as part of the policy of freehold ownership where they farmed and lived.

What is the current name of Batavia?

Batavia, also called Batauia in the city’s Malay vernacular, was the capital of the Dutch East Indies. The area corresponds to present-day Jakarta, Indonesia….Batavia, Dutch East Indies.

Batavia
Preceded by Succeeded by Jayakarta Jakarta
Today part of Indonesia

Can you live on the Abrolhos Islands?

The Abrolhos Today They live in huts, shacks and houses on 22 of the small islands with at least one of the islands even having a school for the children of the fishermen.

When was the Batavia wreck found on Beacon Island?

The discovery of the Batavia wreck site in 1963 led to a considerable frenzy of digging, especially on Beacon Island where archaeological material and human bones had been found on previous occasions. Several grave sites and isolated finds were located during the early and mid 1960s.

Where was the replica of the Batavia located?

A functioning replica of the Batavia docked in Netherlands. On 4 June 1629, the Batavia struck a morning reef near Beacon Island in the Abrolhos Islands chain. Most of the people managed to swim to safety on Beacon Island, but 40 people weren’t so lucky and drowned.

Where did the Batavia hit a reef in 1629?

On 4 June 1629, the Batavia struck a morning reef near Beacon Island in the Abrolhos Islands chain. Most of the people managed to swim to safety on Beacon Island, but 40 people weren’t so lucky and drowned. This was nothing in comparison to what awaited the survivors in the following months.

Where did the survivors of the Batavia shipwreck go?

The following morning most of the survivors were ferried by the ship’s longboat to Beacon Island, a sandy outcrop in the northern part of the Houtman Abrolhos Islands, two kilometres away from the wreck site. Pelsaert, Jacobsz and other officers made camp on what became known as Traitors’ Island.