Beacon Island
Site#5
DescriptionThe wreck site of BATAVIA lies in four to seven meters of water on the south-west corner of Morning Reef, off Beacon Island, in the Wallabi Group of the Houtman Abrolhos 80 kilometres off the coast from Geraldton in Western Australia. The main body of the wreckage lay in a shallow depression in the reef approximately 50 meters long and 15 meters wide. A thin hard crust of dead coral, held together by live coral overlay a loosely packed deposit of sand and coralline rubble which protected the remains of the BATAVIA's hull and cargo.
The wrecksite of the BATAVIA, its relics and its associated land sites are protected under the Historic Shipwrecks Act (1976).
HistoryThe Dutch East India Company vessel BATAVIA with 341 passengers and crew and commanded by Francois Pelsaert, was wrecked on a coral reef of Beacon Island in the Wallabi or northern group of the Houtman Albrolhos, off the coast of Western Australia, on 4 June 1629. The greater part of the passengers, soldiers and crew safely reached nearby Beacon Island were they established a camp constructed out of material salvaged from the wreck. The wrecksite of the BATAVIA, its relics and its associated land sites are protected under the Historic Shipwrecks Act (1976).
Pelsaert, the BATAVIA's skipper Ariaen Jacobsz, along with a 46 other sailors and passengers from the BATAVIA then sailed the larger of the surviving ship's boats up the uncharted Western Australian coast and into the Sunda Straits where they were rescued by a passing Dutch vessel.
After reporting the loss of the BATAVIA to the Dutch authorities in the town of Batavia (present day Jakarta) Pelseart was placed in command of a small Dutch yacht SARDAM and ordered back to the wrecksite to salvage the BATAVIA's cargo and rescue the survivors. Although the SARDAM left Batavia on 7 July 1629 the yacht did not locate the wrecksite until the 17 September 1629.
During Pelsaert's absence the BATAVIA's undermerchant Jeronimus Cornelisz established a dictatorship on Beacon Island and a bloody mutiny had broken out amongst the survivors and at least 125 people had been killed. Aided by a group of soldiers still loyal to the Dutch East India Company Pelsaert quickly re-establsihed order and brought the mutineers to justice. Seven of the principle mutineers were executed in the Abrolhas, two were stranded on the Australian mainland and the rest were brought back to Batavia for punishment.
Terms