Shipwrecked: Artefacts from the BATAVIA and Dutch shipwrecks off Western Australia

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. It was the maiden voyage of the Batavia, bound for the Dutch East Indian colonies of modern-day Jakarta, but the tragedy of shipwreck would be overshadowed by the subsequent mutiny among the survivors on the isolated Houtman Abrolhos Islands.

The story of the Batavia was reignited in 1963 when the wreck was formally found. During the next two decades, archaeological excavations of the ship and various campsites have filled in the tragic tale of the survivors of the wreck. The project also led to the establishment of many of Australia’s heritage laws and aspects of best practice in recording archaeological sites.

Today, part of the hull of the Batavia can be seen at the Western Australian Museum in Fremantle. Artefacts from the sites were divided among the collections of the Western Australian Museum, Australian National Maritime Museum and the Netherlands Government.