Copper kettle from the wreck of the ZEEWIJK

Datebefore 1727

Object number00016350

NameKettle

MediumCopper

DimensionsOverall: 120 x 200 mm, 250 g

ClassificationsTools and equipment

Credit LineANMM Collection Transferred from Australian Netherlands Committee on Old Dutch Shipwrecks

Terms

DescriptionThis kettle was excavated from Gun Island off the Western Australian coast where the survivors of the shipwrecked ZEEWIJK were marooned in 1727. Made from copper, this round kettle has no lid, and both the spout and handle are missing. Salvaged from the shipwreck, the kettle would have been a valuable object to the survivors during the several months they were marooned on Gun Island.HistoryThe ZEEWIJK was constructed by the Dutch East India Company in 1725. On 7 November 1726 the ship, with a crew of 208 commanded by Jan Steyns, departed for Batavia (present day Jakarta), with a cargo consisting of ironwork, coins and general items. On 26 March 1727 the ZEEWIJK arrived at the Cape of Good Hope to deliver goods, and set sail again on 21 April. Despite the warnings from the Dutch East India Company of low reefs and sandbanks off the Western Australian Coast, Steyns changed course and took ZEEWIJK too close to the coast. On 9 June 1727 ZEEWIJK struck a reef in the Houtman Abrolhos islands. The vessel did not break up immediately, but due to rough weather the longboat could not be launched for over a week. Ninety six of the crew and their salvaged provisions eventually reached Gun Island, and soon after, a group of 11 men set sail in the long boat for Batavia to obtain help. The long boat never reached its destination, and by October the castaways began constructing a vessel from salvaged material which they named SLOEPIE. In March 1728 the survivors left the island for a month long journey to Batavia. The boat was fitted with weapons salvaged from ZEEWIJK to protect the cargo of coins they took with them. Eighty-two of the crew arrived at Batavia on 30 April 1728. In 1840 during HMS BEAGLE'S survey of the Australian coast the crew found relics of the castaway's camp site on Gun Island, including a bronze Dutch East India Company cannon after which the island was named. The wreck of ZEEWIJK was identified in the 1960's after artefacts were found in the reef. The ZEEWIJK is protected under the Historic Shipwrecks Act 1976.SignificanceThis object highlights the presence of the powerful Dutch East India Company in Australia, prior to British exploration. It illustrates the significant role Dutch merchants played in putting Australia - then referred to as New Holland - on the map.