First known pictures of Australia. The wreck of the Dutch sjip Batavia near Geraldton, West Australia, in 1628.
Batavia
(1629)
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The Batavia
was wrecked during the early hours of the morning on June 4th 1629, after
striking a reef in the Houtman Abrolhos Islands. The reef is now
known as the Morning Reef. There were 341 people on board the Batavia.
Using two boats salvaged from the wreck, most of the passengers and crew were
transferred to the nearby islands. Forty people drowned in the rough
seas.
Conservative
estimates suggest over 300 passengers and crew of the Dutch East India
Company inhabited the Western Australian coastline, as a consequence of
being marooned. That seems like a lot of people, though it must be remembered
they landed across a period of nearly 100 years (1629 -1727).
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