Found In Australia. Part three.

Tha Batavia. I once saw the Batavia replica in Sydney Harbour. I got close, but was not allowed onboard at that time. The things I remember most about this ship are (1) it was a lot smaller than I expected, and (2) it looked very formiddable!

First known pictures of Australia. The wreck of the Dutch sjip Batavia near Geraldton, West Australia, in 1628.

Batavia (1629)

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).

http://www.lifeonperth.com/dutchshipwrecks.htm