CYGNET careened
Artist
Geoffrey Chapman Ingleton
(Australian, 1908 - 1998)
Datec 1930
Object number00004838
NameEtching
MediumEtching on paper
DimensionsOverall: 410 x 355 mm, 1.15 kg
ClassificationsArt
Credit LineANMM Collection
DescriptionKing Sound, Western Australia was encountered by Europeans in 1688 when the English privateer ship CYGNET was careened on the coast on 4 January 1688 and stayed for six weeks to make repairs. On board was William Dampier who made some of the earliest recorded observations of the Australian continent, describing a barren, dry and uninhabitable land. This etching shows the ship beached on the coast at what was possibly Catamaran Bay, King Sound.HistoryWilliam Dampier was an avid sailor who took part in a number of privateer voyages along the coast of south and central America. In 1688 he joined the privateer ship CYGNET under the command of Captain Charles Swan. The ship was operating as a private warship under the authority of the British government to attack foreign shipping such as Spanish and French merchant vessels.
CYGNET careened on the north-west Australian coast in 1688 near King Sound. Over a period of six weeks while the ship was being repaired Dampier compiled descriptions of Australia's flora, fauna and landscape. He collected at least 24 known plant specimens and produced sketches of the continent.
In 1689 Dampier published his account 'A New Voyage around the World' detailing his adventures. It became one of the most widely read narratives written by a sailor in the 17th century, released around the same time that Dutchman Abel Tasman was exploring the north-east coast of Australia for the Dutch East India Company (VOC). Dampier's privateer expeditions and narrative helped cement his reputation as a seaman and navigator with the British Admiralty.
Dampier's descriptions of the Australian continent and the local people were less than favourable. He recorded that 'New Holland is a very large tract of land. It is not yet determined wether it is an island or a main continent but I am certain that it joins neither to Asia, Africa nor America' and 'The land is of a dry sandy soil, destitute of water, except you make wells; yet producing divers sorts of Trees; but the woods are not thick, nor the trees very big'.
Lieutenant Commander Geoffrey Ingleton (1908-1998) was a historian, book collector, artist, model maker, publisher, printmaker and illustrator. Ingleton gained fame for his works depicting maritime scenes, ships and events, including a series of works focused on significant ships in Australia's maritime history.SignificanceThis etching represents the presence of British privateer ships on Australia's coastline in the 1600s.
1795-1805
