Zuytdorp

On April 1712 the 700 ton VOC ship the Zuytdorp, Captained by Marinus Wijsvliet, was wrecked on the Western Australian coast (New Holland) crashing onto rocks at the bottom of cliffs just south of Shark Bay. The cliffs are now called the Zuytdorp Cliffs. It had a complement of 286 people on board when it left its home port in Zeeland (Netherlands) on 1 August 1711. In 1927 a stockman discovered the survivor’s campsite at the top of the cliffs. He found silver coins and some artifacts but no signs of human remains.It was another 30 years before it was realised that this was indeed the wreck site of the Zuytdorp.Again, what happened to those survivors? 

Vergulde Draeck Myth?

The Vergulde Draeck (Gilt Dragon) a Dutch VOC ship was wrecked on the WA coast in 1656 and discovered in 1963 by a small group of divers, among them Alan Robinson. During the recovery an argument ensued and the underwater wrecksite was dynamited, causing extensive damage. Subsequent involvement of the museum ‘established’ that the wrecks was that of the Gilt Dragon as a result of coins dated 1655. No other evidence as to identity of the ship was found.Recent research revealed that in the original report stated that the ship had wrecked at 30 deg. 40 mins South )Hill River). This did not correspond with where the ship was allegedly found at 31 deg. 16 mins South (Ledge Point)I approached the WA Maritime Museum with the query and received a brusque reply that the navigation of that time was sloppy, the astrolabe not reliable and that weather conditions and an overcast sky would have prevented an accurate reading in any case. After that the call was terminated by the receiver.Over the years, others have cast doubt about the location of the ship at Ledge Point such as Norm Fuller, now deceased, who spent many years researching the wrecksite. He claimed this in his book “The Gilt Dragon at Greenhead”.The captain Pieter Albertsz. who survived the ordeal with 74 others sent the Understeersman and six crew in an open boat to get help. It was therefore imperative that he had an accurate reading of their position and therefore the museum version of weather, cloudy skies are poorly chosen reasons.Where is the real evidence that the Gilt Dragon went down near Ledge Point?

Who Really Discovered Australia?

Who discovered America? Columbus of course – in 1492. Did he know where he was?    No! He thought he was in the Spice Islands (now Indonesia) hence the innocent inhabitants became known as Indians and Columbus got the credit for this marvelous discovery but not so Willem Janszoon, the captain of the VOC ship Duyfken.The Duyfken crew landed on Cape York Peninsula in Northern Queensland in 1606 after surveying the coast of what is now New Guinea. It was the first recorded landing on Australian soil.   Did Willem get the credit?    No way!  James Cook an English explorer got the credit after he arrived on the east coast of the Southland in 1770.For decades, academics and others have pulled all kinds of rabbits out of the hat.  The Chinese, the Egyptians, Arabs, Spanish and the Portuguese – without a sliver of concrete proof.Dirk Hartogh landed on a island off Shark Bay in 1616, which is now named after him and the left an inscribed pewter plate nailed to a post as proof of his visit. This was 154 years before James Cook.           Why is there no one who will say that the Dutch discovered Australia and then move onto other intellectual trivia?