J. E. Heeres - The Part Borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia 1606 1765
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J. E. Heeres >> The Part Borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia 1606 1765
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[* Left blank.]
On the 27th do. in the evening, when it had got dark, the water suddenly
turned as white as butter-milk, a thing that none of those on board of us
had ever seen in their lives, and which greatly surprised us all, so
that, concluding it to be caused by a shallow of the sea, we set the
foresail and cast the lead, but since we got no bottom, and with the
rising moon the water again resumed its usual colour, we made all sail
and ran on full speed, satisfied that the strange colour had been caused
by the sky, which was very pale at the time. On the 28th in the morning
very early, the water became thick, and shortly after we sighted land,
being two islands, each of them about 2 miles in length; at 4 miles'
distance from the land we cast the lead in 65 fathom sandy bottom. At
noon in Latitude 8 deg., three miles off shore, we found ourselves to have
run too far to eastward, wherefore we held our course to westward up to
the 2nd of October, when by God's grace we passed the Princen islands,
and arrived off Bantham on the 9th do. By estimation the land of
d'Eendracht is marked in the chart fifty miles too far to eastward, which
should also be rectified...
Done in the ship 't Wapen van Hoorn, November 8, A.D. 1627, lying at
anchor before Batavia.
Your Worships' obedt. Servant
J. V. ROOSENBERGH.
* * * * *
{Page 54}
XXI.
(1628) DISCOVERY OF THE NORTH-WEST COAST OF AUSTRALIA BY THE SHIP
VIANEN (VIANE, VIANA), COMMANDED BY GERRIT FREDERIKSZOON DE WITT.--DE
WITT'S LAND.
A.
_Letter of the Governor-General and Councillors to the Managers of the
E.I.C. November 3, 1628._
...[We] thought fit to give orders for the ship Vyanen [*] to sail to the
strait of Balamboan. [She] sailed [from Batavia] thither on the 14th of
January, and from there stood out to sea on the 25th do. She was by
head-winds driven so far to south-ward that she came upon the South-land
beyond Java where she ran aground, so that she was forced to throw
overboard 8 or 10 lasts of pepper and a quantity of copper, upon which
through God's mercy she got off again without further damage...
[* That commander Gerrit Frederikszoon De Witt, was on board this ship,
is proved by an original letter of his, dated August 6, 1628 (Hague State
Archives).]
B.
_See the Hessel Gerritsz--Huydecoper Chart (No 5.--VII D), which has G. F.
De Witts-land._
C.
_Instructions for Tasman, 1644 [*]._
[* The well-known chart of TASMAN, 1644 (see my Life of, Tasman, pp.
71-73) also has the name G. F. De Witt's Land.]
...Meanwhile in the year 1627 the ship t' Gulde
Zeepaert,...discovered...the south coast of the great Southland, and in
the following year 1628 the ship Viana, homeward bound from Batavia,
equally unexpectedly discovered the coast of the same land on the north
side in the Southern Latitude of 21 degrees, and sailed along it a
distance of about 50 miles; none of these discoveries, however, resulting
in the obtaining of any considerable information respecting the situation
and condition of this vast land, it only having been found that it has
barren and dangerous coasts, green, fertile fields and exceedingly
savage, black, barbarian inhabitants...
* * * * *
XXII.
(before 1629) DISCOVERY OF JACOB REMESSENS-, REMENS-, OR
ROMMER-RIVER, SOUTH OF WILLEMS RIVER [*].
[* I do not know the date of this discovery. Since Pelsaert was
acquainted with it, it must have taken place before 1629 or 1628. It
cannot have been much earlier, as the name is not found in Hessel
Gerritsz's charts. I must mention, however, that Leupe has found a
steersman of the name of Jacob Remmetsz referred to in the archives of
the E.I.C. about the year 1619.]
A.
_Daily annotations of Pelsaert, 1629 (See infra)._
...This 16th [of June]...we were in Latitude 22 degrees 17 minutes. I
intended to sail to Jacop Remmessens river.
{Page 55}
B.
_Keppler Map (No. 6.--VII E)._
* * * * *
XXIII.
(1629). [*] SHIPWRECK OF THE SHIP BATAVIA UNDER COMMANDER FRANCOIS
PELSAERT ON HOUTMANS ABROLHOS [**].--FURTHER DISCOVERY OF THE WEST-COAST
OF AUSTRALIA.
[* In the year 1628 certain other Dutch vessels sighted or touched at the
west-coast of Australia on their outward voyage to India (see LEUPE,
_Zuidland_, p. 58; my edition of the Daily Register of Batavia, p. 341).
What we know on this point is without interest. I merely mention the fact
here, without entering into particulars.]
[** The fact and the particulars of this shipwreck have become
sufficiently known, the narrative of it having been published repeatedly
and in different languages (see TIELE, Memoires bibliographiques, pp.
262-268; _Id_. Bibliographie Land- en Volkenkunde, pp. 172, 190-191,
258f.--Cf. e.g. also MAJOR, Early Voyages, pp. LXXXIX--XCII; 59-74). I
accordingly print in the text only what is strictly necessary; but I give
almost _in extenso_ Pelsaert's journal of his exploratory voyage along
the west-coast of Australia.]
A.
_Woeful diurnal annotations [of Commander PELSAERT] touching the loss of
our ship Batavia, run aground on the Abrolhos, or rocks of Fredrick
Houtman, situated in 281/2 degrees S. Lat., at 9 miles' distance from the
Southland._
On the fourth of June [1619], it being Whitmonday, with a light, clear
full moon, about two hours before daybreak...I felt the ship's rudder
strike the rocks with a violent horrible shock. Upon which the ship's
course was forthwith checked by the rocks...I rushed on deck, and found
all the sails atop; the wind south-west; our course during the night had
been north-east by north, and we were now lying amidst thick foam. Still,
at the moment, the breakers round the ship were not violent, but shortly
after the sea was heard to run upon us with great vehemence on all
sides...
[When] day broke, we found ourselves surrounded by cliffs and shoals...
I saw no land that I thought would remain above water at high tide,
except an island, which by estimation was fully three miles from the
ship. I therefore sent the skipper to two small islets or cliffs, in
order to ascertain whether our men and part of our cargo could be landed
there. About 9 o'clock the skipper returned, informing me that it was
well-nigh impossible to get through the rocks and cliffs, the pinnace
running aground in one place, and the water being several fathom deep in
another. As far as he could judge, the islands would remain above water
at high tide. Therefore, moved by the loud lamentations raised on board
by women, children, sick people, and faint-hearted men, we thought it
best first to land the greater part of our people...
[On June 5] at their earnest instances to move me, it was determined, as
shown by the resolution, that we should try to find fresh water in the
neighbouring islands, or on the mainland coast in order to save their
lives and our own; and that, if no water should be found, we should in
that case at the mercy of God with the pinnace continue our voyage to
Batavia, there to make known our calamitous and unheard-of disasters...
{Page 56}
This day the 6th do...[we] set sail in the pinnace, and on this day
touched at two separate islands, where we found at best some brackish
water, which had collected in the cavities of the rocks on the beach
after the rain, but it was largely mixed with seawater. On the 7th do. we
remained here, in order to repair our pinnace with a plank, for we found
that without this it would have been impossible to reach the mainland...
On the 8th do. in the morning we set sail from this island for the
mainland...
At noon we were in 28 deg. 13' Lat., and shortly after sighted the mainland,
which we estimated to lie 6 miles north by west of our ship. The wind
blew from the west, and we sounded 25 and 30 fathom about 3 o'clock in
the afternoon. During the night we kept off the land, and after midnight
shaped our course for it again.
In the morning of the 9th we were still about 3 miles from the land, the
wind being mainly north-west with some rain; in the last 24 hours we
covered 4 or 5 miles by estimation, course held north by west. The land
here extends chiefly north by west and south by east. It is a barren,
rocky coast without trees, about the height of Dover in England.
We here saw a small inlet, and some low land with dunes, which we meant
to touch at, but on nearer approach we found a heavy sea and violent
breakers on the shore, while at the same time the swell from the west
suddenly began to run towards the land so strongly and so high, that we
could hardly keep off it, the less so as the storm always rose in
violence.
On the 10th do. we kept holding off and on for twenty-four hours owing to
the strong wind, while the storm from the north-west, which stood on the
boat we had taken with us, forced us to cut the same adrift and to throw
overboard a part of the bread we had with us, together with other things
that were in the way, since we could not keep the water out of our
pinnace.
During the night we were in great peril of foundering owing to the
violent gale and the hollow seas. We could not keep off the land, because
we did not venture to carry sail, and so were wholly at the mercy of wind
and waves, while it kept raining the whole night.
On the 1lth do. in the morning the weather began somewhat to abate, the
wind turning to west-south-west, upon which we held our course to
northward, but the sea was still very rough.
On the 12th do. at noon we were in Lat. 27 deg.; we ran close along the land
with a south-east wind, but could find no means to get near the land with
the pinnace, owing to the violent surf; we found the coast falling off
very steeply, without any foreland or inlets, such as other lands are
found to have: in short it seemed to us a barren, accursed earth without
leafage or grass.
On the 13th do. at noon we were in Lat. 25 deg. 40'; we found ourselves
drifting very rapidly northward, having rounded the point where the land
extends mainly N.N.E. and S.S.W. During the last 24 hours our course was
chiefly north. The coast was steep, consisting of red rock, without
foreland, of the same height almost everywhere, and impossible to touch
at owing to the breakers.
On the 14th do. in the morning there was a faint breeze, but during the
day it fell a dead calm. At noon we were in Lat. 24 deg.; course held N.,
with a S.E. wind; during the whole of the day the current carried us
northward against our will, for we {Page 57} were running along the land
with small sail. In the afternoon we saw smoke rising up from the land;
we accordingly rowed to shore in order to land if possible, with our
spirits somewhat raised, for I concluded that if there were men, there
must be water too. Coming near the shore, I found it to be a steeply
rising coast, full of rocks and stones, with the surf running violently;
nevertheless 6 of our men swam ashore, and we remained at anchor with the
pinnace in 25 fathom outside the surf. The men now searched for water
everywhere until nightfall, without, however, finding any; they also saw
four men coming up to them, creeping on all fours, but when our men all
of a sudden emerged from a depression of the ground, and approached them,
they sprang to their feet, and ran off in full career, all which we could
distinctly see from the pinnace. They were black men, stark naked,
without the least covering. In the evening our men swam on board again,
all of them grievously wounded by the rocks on which they been dashed by
the breakers. We therefore weighed anchor again to seek a better place
for landing, and ran on during the night with small sail close along the
shore, but out of the reach of the surf.
On the 15th do. in the morning we were near a point of the coast off
which a large reef extended about a mile in length, we ran in between the
land and this reef, which we estimated to be in 23 deg. Lat., and thus sailed
along the coast, along which there was another reef, inside which the
water seemed to be very smooth and still; we did our best to get inside
this second reef, but did not find an opening before noon, when we saw a
passage where there was no surf, we ran into it, but found it to be full
of stones, and sometimes no more than one or two feet deep.
This coast had a foreshore covered with dunes about a mile in width,
before you come to the higher part. We therefore began to dig in divers
places, but the water proved to be salt; some of us went to the higher
land, where by good luck we found in a rock a number of cavities, in
which a quantity of rain-water had collected. It also seemed that a short
time before there had been natives there, for we found some crab-shells
lying about and here and there fire-ashes. Here we somewhat quenched our
cruel thirst, which almost prevented us from dragging ourselves along,
for since the loss of our ship we had had no more than one or two
mutchkins daily, without any wine or other drink. Besides quenching our
own thirst, we here gathered about 80 cans of water, and remained there
for the night.
On the 16th do. in the morning we continued our exploration in order to
find out whether there were more water-pits in the mountains, but our
search was fruitless, for it seemed not to have rained there for a long
time past, and we found no traces of running water, the higher ground
being again very barren and unpromising, without any trees, shrubs or
grass, but with plenty of high ant-hills in all directions. These
ant~hills consisted of earth thrown up, and from afar somewhat resembled
huts for the abode of men.
We also found such multitudes of flies here, which perched on our mouths
and crept into our eyes, that we could not keep them off our persons. We
likewise saw 8 blacks here, each of them carrying a stick in his hand;
they came within a musketshot's distance of us, but when we went up to
them, they ran off, and we could not get them to stop, that we might come
near them. Towards noon, when we found there was no more water to be had,
we set sail again, and passed through another opening of the reef a
little more to northward. We were here in 22 deg. 17' Lat. I intended to run
on to Jacop Remessens river, but the wind went round to North-east, so
that we could not keep near the land, and seeing that we were now more
than {Page 58} 100 miles from those we had left behind on the
island-rocks, and that up to now we had not found water enough to assist
them all, but only so much as would afford two mutchkins daily to
ourselves, we were compelled to resolve to do our best in order with
God's help to continue our voyage to Batavia as expeditiously as
possible, that the Hon. Lord Governor-general might order measures to be
taken for the succour of those we had left behind...
On the 7 th do. [of July] we arrived in the road-stead of Batavia at
nightfall.
God be thanked and praised.
B.
_Diurnal anotations on my [PELSAERT'S] second voyage to the South-land,
by order of the Hon. Lord Governor-general Jan Pietersen Coen, with the
Yacht Sardam, for the purpose of rescuing and bringing hither the men
belonging to our lost ship Batavia, together with the ready money and the
goods that it shall be found possible to salve._
This day the 15th Of July We set sail in the morning with the
land-wind...
This day the 1st of September at noon we were in 29 deg. 16' Southern
Latitude [*], with a variable wind, so that we found it impossible to get
to eastward.
[* The ship had already sailed farther south than Houtman's Abrolhos.]
On the 2nd do. the wind went round to the north with a top-gallant gale;
at noon we were in 30 deg. 16' S.L. and found we had drifted a long way to
southward; in the evening the wind turned to the north-west; course held
N.E. by north.
On the 3rd do. in the morning the wind was blowing from the west; we saw
a good deal of rock-weed floating about and also a number of
cuttle-bones. We therefore turned our course to eastward, and at noon we
saw the mainland of the South-land, extending N.N.W. and S.S.E.; we were
at about 3 miles' distance from it and saw the land extending southward
for 4 miles by estimation, where it was bounded by the horizon. We
sounded here in 25 fathom, fine sandy bottom. It is a treeless, barren
coast with a few sandy dunes, the same as to northward; we were in 29 deg.
16' Southern Latitude, turned our course to north-west, the wind being
W.S.W., but the hollow seas threw us close to the land, so that in the
evening we had to drop anchor at one mile's distance from it; at two
glasses in the first watch our anchor was broken in two, so that we had
to bring out another in great haste.
On the 4th do. in the morning the wind was S.W. by S., still with a very
hollow swell. During the day the wind went round to S.S.W., upon which we
weighed anchor and got under sail before noon. We stood out to sea on a
W.N.W. course in order to get off the lee-shore. At noon we were in 28 deg.
50' S.L., where the land began to fall off one point, to wit North by
west and South by east. In the afternoon the wind went round to the
south, and we shaped our course westward. Towards evening we became aware
of a shoal straight ahead or west of us, at only a musket-shot's
distance, we being in 25 fathom fine sandy bottom. We turned the rudder
and ran off it half a mile to E.S.E., where we came to anchor in 27
fathom fine bottom; from noon till the evening we had been sailing on a
W.N.W. course, and we were now at 5 miles' distance from the mainland. In
the night it fell a dead calm with fine weather and a south-by-east wind.
{Page 59}
On the 5th do. in the morning the wind being S.S.E. with lovely weather,
we weighed anchor and sailed S.S.W. for an hour, at the end of which we
observed more breakers, shallows and islets ahead of us and alongside our
course; the wind then turned more to eastward, so that we could run to
the south and S.S.E. This reef or shoal extended S.S.W. and N.N.E.; along
it we sounded in 27, 28 and 29 fathom sandy bottom; at 11 o'clock in the
forenoon we had lost sight of the mainland; at noon we were in 28 deg. 59' S.
Lat., the extremity of the reef lying W.S.W. of us, and we being in 50 or
60 fathom, foul steep bottom. In the afternoon the wind began to abate,
but the current carried us to the west, while the rocks here fell off far
to westward, we being at about 87 miles' distance from the mainland by
estimation. We had a dead calm the whole night and drifted along the
rock, on which we heard the waves break the whole time.
On the 6th do. in the morning we had lost sight of the rocks; about 10
o'clock the wind began to blow from the W.N.W., so that we ran nearly in
the direction of the rocks. At noon we were in 28 deg. 44' S. Lat.; it began
to blow hard from the N.W., so that in the afternoon we kept tacking off
and on, and found ourselves carried northward by the current. In the
evening we stood out to sea away from the rocks again, and sounded in 40
fathom foul rocky bottom; this shallow here extends seaward S.E. and N.W.
In the evening it began to blow very hard, so that we had to run on with
shortened mainsails, the wind being variable.
On the 7th do. in the morning the wind abated, so that we made sail
again; at noon we found our latitude to be 29 deg. 30'; we went over to
northward to get sight of the mainland again, but the wind suddenly
turned sharply to W.N.W., so that we had to stand out to sea again.
On the 8th do. at noon we were in 29 deg. 7' S. Lat., course held N.E. In the
evening we saw the breakers again. We therefore stood out to sea on a
west-south-west course the whole night with a north-west-wind; and it
began to blow so hard that we had again to take in the topsails.
On the 9th do. in the morning we shaped our course to the land again; at
noon we were in Lat. 29 deg. and for the rest of the day we kept tacking off
and on; towards the evening there blew a storm from the N.W., so that we
could hardly keep our main-sails set.
On the 10th do. we made sail again in the morning; at noon we were in 29 deg.
30' S. Lat., with a westerly wind and a top-gallant gale.
On the 11th do. it was calm in the morning, but with a very hollow sea,
while the wind blew from the W.N.W., so that we could not get to the
north, if we did not wish to come upon or near the rocks. At noon we were
in 28 deg. 48' S. Lat. The wind continued variable, so that in the night we
had to drift with our foresail set until daybreak.
On the 12th do. we made sail again at daybreak, shaping our course to the
east. We ran on till noon, when we found ourselves to be in in 28 deg. 13' S.
Lat. We therefore ran somewhat more to the south again, in order to reach
the latitude Of 28 deg. 20' exactly; the wind was south-west with a heavy
swell of the sea. In the afternoon, two hours before sunset we again
sighted the rocks, which we estimated to be still two miles from us. We
cast the lead in 100 fathom fine sandy bottom, but when we had come to
half a mile's distance, we sounded 30 fathom foul rocky bottom. In the
night we shaped our course two points more to seaward, and in the
daywatch made for the land again.
{Page 60}
On the 13th do., three hours after sunrise we again sighted breakers
ahead, and having made up our reckoning, we found we had lost a mile
north, since the wind had been S.S.E. This proved to be the northernmost
extremity of the Abrolhos. Therefore, since I found we always came too
high or too low, and it was very dangerous to touch at them from the
outside owing to the high swells and foul bottom, I resolved to keep
tacking off the outermost shoal. After this we went over again nearly to
weatherward with a S.S.E. wind, keeping an eastern course. When we had
got inside a small distance, we directly had a fine sandy bottom in from
30 to 35 fathom; at noon we were in 28 deg. S. Lat., shortly after we again
saw the mainland of the Southland. In the evening, as it began to blow
hard, we came to anchor at about 2 miles' distance from the land in 30
fathom, fine bottom.
On the 14th do. there was a stiff gale from the S.S.E., so that we could
not get in our anchor, and remained here all day.
On the 15th do. the wind was still equally strong, but towards noon it
got somewhat calmer, so that we could get in our anchor. At noon we were
in 27 deg. 54' S. Lat. We kept tacking the whole day with a S.S.E. wind, in
order to gain the south, and at night found we had gained two miles. When
it got dark, we again came to anchor in 30 fathom fine bottom.
On the 16th do. at daybreak we again weighed anchor; the wind being
W.S.W., we went over nearly to southward. At noon we were in
Latitude...degrees...minutes [*]. The wind then turned first to the west
and afterwards to the north, so that we could sail on a south-west
course; towards the evening we saw the rocks on which our good ship
Batavia had miscarried, and I was sure I saw the high Island, but our
steersmen contended that it was other land. Two hours after sunset we
again came to anchor in 26 fathom fine sandy bottom.
[* Left blank.]
On the 17th do. at daybreak we again weighed anchor with a northerly
wind; we were now still about 2 miles from the high island and made for
it. When at noon we had got near the island we saw smoke rising up from a
long island, two miles to westward of the wreck, and also from another
islet [*], close to the wreck, at which we were all of us greatly
rejoiced, hoping to find the greater part [**] or almost all the people
alive. Therefore, when we had come to anchor, I went in a boat to the
highest island, which was quite close to us, taking with me a cask of
water, a cask of bread, and a small keg of wine; when I had got there I
did not see any one, at which we were greatly astonished. I sprang
ashore...
[* This islet was named Batavia's Kerkhof [Churchyard] by the survivors;
another of the rocks got the name of Robben-eiland [Seals' island].]
[* This proved actually to be the case. I have thought it needless to
print those parts of the journal which tell the adventures of the
castaways, since they have repeatedly been narrated in other works.]
On the 15th [of November, 1629] the wind was S.S.W., with seemingly fine
weather. Therefore, in the name of God, we weighed anchor and set sail
from these luckless Abrolhos for the mainland on an East-north-east
course, for the purpose of seeking there the skipper and four other men,
who on the 14th last were with their boat cut off from ship by a storm,
after which we had resolved to continue our return-voyage to Batavia with
the utmost expedition. The spot where the ship or wreck lies, is in 28 deg.
36' or 40', and the place near the high Island where we have been at
anchor with the Yacht, in 30 or 32 minutes, north-north-west of the
wreck. But after the shipwreck the steersmen had in one of the islands
taken the latitude Of 28 degrees 8 minutes, and 28 degrees 20 minutes,
which mistake has caused no little loss of time and misunderstanding on
our part in seeking out these places...
{Page 61}
The sea abounds in fish in these parts; they are mainly of three kinds,
but very different in shape and taste from those caught on other coasts.
All the islands about here are low-lying atolls or coral-islets and
rocks, except two or three large islands, in one of which, a long time
before we came here, they had found two pits filled with water, but
during the time we were here, the water in these pits became very
brackish or salt, so as to be unfit for human consumption. In the other
island, near which the Yacht lay at anchor, after burning away the
brushwood or thicket, we also came upon two pits filled with water, which
were discovered quite by accident...since they had only a small hole at
top, that would admit a man's arm, but below we found a large cistern or
water-tank under the earth; after which with mattocks and sledge-hammers
we widened the hole so as to be able to take out the water conveniently.
Besides, we found in these islands large numbers of a species of cats,
which are very strange creatures; they are about the size of a hare,
their head resembling the head of a civet-cat; the forepaws are very
short, about the length of a finger, on which the animal has five small
nails or fingers, resembling those of a monkey's forepaw. Its two
hind-legs, on the contrary, are upwards of half an ell in length, and it
walks on these only, on the flat of the heavy part of the leg, so that it
does not run fast. Its tail is very long, like that of a long-tailed
monkey; if it eats, it sits on its hind-legs, and clutches its food with
its forepaws, just like a squirrel or monkey. Their manner of generation
or procreation is exceedingly strange and highly worth observing. Below
the belly the female carries a pouch, into which you may put your hand;
inside this pouch are her nipples, and we have found that the young ones
grow up in this pouch with the nipples in their mouths. We have seen some
young ones lying there, which were only the size of a bean, though at the
same time perfectly proportioned, so that it seems certain that they grow
there out of the nipples of the mammae, from which they draw their food,
until they are grown up and are able to walk. Still, they keep creeping
into the pouch even when they have become very large, and the dam runs
off with them, when they are hunted.
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