www.australiaonthemap.org.au I s s u e

Map 1 Matters

Issue 8 November 2009

Inside this issue Welcome to the "Spring" edition of Map Matters, News the newsletter of the on the Map Division of the 1602 VOC Charter Australasian Hydrographic Society. goes online Search for the If you have any contributions or suggestions for Deadwater Wreck Map Matters, you can email them to me at: Cheers for [email protected], or post them to me at: mutineers GPO Box 1781, , 2601 Projects update Members welcome Frank Geurts Editor Contacts How to contact the AOTM Division

News

1602 VOC Charter goes online To view the VOC The Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, known in English as the Charter and , or the VOC, was granted a Charter by the translation, go to States General of the United on 20 March 1602. The www.australiaonthe Charter is an important historical document. Through its formation the map.org.au VOC became the world’s first multinational company. It was also one of the world’s first joint-stock (shareholder) companies. But the significance of the Charter and the VOC goes well beyond that. The VOC came to play a significant role in the history of a number of countries including Sri Lanka, India, Indonesia, South Africa, Japan, and, of course, Australia. The history of world capitalism was also influenced by the formation and history of the VOC. The Charter united a number of different Dutch trading companies and laid the foundation for the Dutch maritime empire. It gave the company a free hand from the Cape of Good Hope to the Straits of Magellan, half the world. This is the first page of the Charter.

The VOC Charter

The role of the VOC in Australian history cannot be understated. The , the first foreign ship to visit and chart Australia in 1606 was a VOC vessel looking for trading opportunities. VOC ships under the command of the likes of Dirk Hartog, Abel Tasman and Carstenszoon were responsible for the mapping of about two- thirds of the continent. The famous West Australian shipwrecks, the Batavia (1629), Vergulde Draeck (1656), the Zuytdorp (1712) and Zeewijk (1727) were all VOC ships. The mutineers who were abandoned on the coast of West Australia on 16 November 1629, Australia’s first European residents, were employees of the VOC. Given the VOC’s importance, and the Charter’s significance as an historical foundation document, you would think that copies and translations of the Charter would be readily available. It came as a surprise to us to recently discover that this was not the case. Consequently we obtained a copy of the Charter and began our own English translation. This translation is now complete and has been placed on the Australia on the Map Division’s website: Direct to: www.australiaonthemap.org.au/content/view/50/59 . It is the first, and at present, only English translation of the VOC Charter available online anywhere in the world. We hope that it will become an important resource for students, those with an interest in history and researchers. Peter Reynders – Charter Translator Rupert Gerritsen – Translation Editor

Search for the Deadwater Wreck The Search for the Deadwater Wreck is one of the Australia on the Map Division’s current projects. The name Deadwater conjures up images of mystery and pirates. But the Deadwater is actually a long, quiet, backwater running behind low coastal dunes, just north east of Busselton in the south west of West Australia. It may also be the location of a 17th or early 18th century shipwreck, probably Dutch. It is a wreck that seems to have been found, and then lost, adding to the mystery. The Deadwater Wreck was first officially reported in 1861 by Frank Gregory, who was a surveyor when he saw it in about 1846 or 1847. In a paper published in The Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London he wrote that the: "remains of a vessel of considerable tonnage have been discovered in a shallow estuary near the Vasse Inlet, now quite shut out from the sea, which, from its appearance I should judge to have been wrecked more than two hundred years ago, during which time the land appears to have risen two or three feet [60-90 cm]" Gregory wasn’t someone known for inventing stories. In fact he went on to become a noted explorer, winning the Royal Geographical Society’s Founder’s Medal in 1863, and later becoming a member of the Legislative Council in Queensland. Rumours of a mysterious Dutch wreck had been circulating in the district for a while, and a newspaper in 1856 briefly reported on an unsuccessful attempt to locate it. The founder of Busselton, J. G. Bussell had also reportedly found "Two ancient coins" and also "about 70 lbs [32 kg] of quicksilver ... in the sand, loose," in the vicinity. But it was a salvage claim submitted by a local timber worker, Thomas Bindloss, in 1876 that led to further revelations, and triggered an investigation into the wreck. The Receiver of Wrecks, Worsley Clifton, recalled that he had actually seen the wreck as a teenager in late 1846, in company with the Resident Magistrate of Bunbury. As a result of the salvage claim, Admiralty surveyor Alfred Burt, who later became Registrar of Titles and Deeds, visited the wreck in company with Captain Archdeacon, the head of the survey. According to Burt it had “a high stern”, and was “built in the olden style”. Bindloss’s salvage claim was then contested by a local farmer Joseph Reynolds, whose leasehold covered that part of the Deadwater, but in the end Bindloss was successful and won the salvage rights. By 1902 Bindloss seems to have disappeared and Reynolds successfully reapplied for the salvage rights. In his correspondence he admitted that he had already removed much of the iron from the wreck in the 1860s and others, such as Julius Brockman, recall Reynolds taking “knives, forks and other things” from the wreck in that period. It was in that same year that A. C. Gregory, who had been a surveyor in WA at the same time as his brother Frank, provided some critical information about the wreck. Gregory had achieved even greater fame as an explorer than his brother, going on to become Surveyor-General of Queensland and also an MLC in Queensland. He mentioned the wreck a number of times in lectures and published papers. In a paper in 1902 he claimed "Several articles were recovered from the wreck, and their patterns are similar to Dutch ships of that period [late 17th century]." Analysis of all the information that has come out over the years indicates the Deadwater Wreck was a probably a Dutch vessel, estimated to have been about 30 metres long and dating from the period 1650–1750. By 1910, when journalist Dirksey Cowan conducted a search for the wreck, it could not be found and it has not been seen since. It is now believed that salvaging and pilfering over the years destroyed most of the wreck, with what remains buried in sediment. Clifton did, however, provide some specifics on its location. The photo below shows part of the area where the remnants of the wreck are believed to be. Deadwater, near Busselton WA

A complication in the situation is a claim that the Deadwater Wreck was actually a French longboat, a chaloupe, lost by the Baudin Expedition in the area in June 1801. However, analysis of the evidence places the longboat about two kilometres away. And what remained of the longboat may in fact have been removed by some misguided ilmenite miners in 1959. To clear up the mystery, and locate what may be an important historical wreck, the Australia on the Map Division is trying to mount a professional archaeological search. As the remains appear to be buried in sediment, remote sensing technologies will be employed. An archaeological consultancy, DIG International, have agree to undertake the search. However, it will cost around $10,000, and so as the next step we will be endeavouring to find a sponsor or funding source for the project. Rupert Gerritsen Project Leader

Cheers for mutineers For our readers it is worth remembering that an important part of the vision of the Australia on the Map Division is to: "enhance Australians’ knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the nation’s early history." Much of that early history and heritage of course revolves around charting, mapping, exploration, accidental encounters, shipwrecks and contact with , leading to the other developments that were critical to the formation of the nation. In trying to fulfil our mission, the Australia on the Map Division is following many different paths as it tries to ensure that Australians generally are exposed in one way or another to their early history. Some of the initiatives we have been pursuing have been pretty low key, such as advocating for changes to the national education curriculum, so that students come to know the basics of Australian history from its very beginnings. Others initiatives have consciously aimed at achieving a much higher and very public profile, such as the Explorers Commemorative Area in the Parliamentary Triangle. Nevertheless, we are always looking for new ways of promoting our vision. One such initiative we recently launched is what we have called Cheers for Mutineers. What’s all that about? You may well ask. Well, it so happens that on 16 November 1629, Commandeur Francisco Pelsaert, sailing in the Dutch vessel the Sardam, ordered two mutineers from the Batavia Mutiny to be abandoned on the West Australian coast, probably at the mouth of the Hutt River, 450 km north of where Perth now stands. They were provided with food, a boat, trade goods and a set of instructions directing them to establish friendly relations with the local Nhanda people. As a result, Wouter Loos and Jan Pelgrom de Bye became, albeit unwillingly, the first Europeans to take up residence in Australia. A photo of the picturesque place where they are believed to have landed appears below.

The Western Australian coast where Wouter Loos and Jan Pelgrom de Bye are believed to have landed

As few Australians are aware of that historic date we have come up with a way, an experiment so to speak, to help overcome that. A short email message containing the basic facts was sent out on 16 November to everyone on our mailing lists. We asked the people receiving the email to pass it on, to forward it, to anyone who they thought might be interested. It is known as a “viral campaign”. We are now evaluating the success of this initiative, trying to determine the extent to which word got around. If it looks like it might be working, we will repeat it each year until perhaps one day every Australian will know the significance of 16 November. Rupert Gerritsen Chair

Projects update A snapshot of some of the AOTM Division projects initiated or underway.

National Events Corporation To have a National Events Corporation established to provide a permanent governmental structure and funding stream for commemorations of national significance. Proposal has been put before the Government and Opposition. Explorers Commemorative Area in Parliamentary Triangle To have an area set aside within the Parliamentary Triangle for the erection of statues, monuments and other commemorative structures to mark significant landmarks in the maritime discovery, contact and exploration of Australia. Information received that Windsor Walk has been designated, letter written to the Prime Minister as Chair of National Memorials Committee urging designation of a more prominent and visible location. 200th Anniversary Freycinet Map Exhibition 2011 To foster a national touring map exhibition to mark the publication of the Freycinet Map, the 1st complete map of Australia. To take place in 2011. NLA will be holding major map exhibition in the new Treasures Gallery in late 2011/early 2012. Image of the 1811 map to be circulated to promote wider awareness. 2014 – The Naming of Australia – The Flinders Map of 1814 To foster suitable commemorations of the 200th anniversary of the publication of Matthew Flinders’ map of Australia, which led to the adoption the name of Australia. Collaboration with Flinders Society, joint letter to NSLA. Awaiting response to letter, early 2010 Animated Map Arrange publication and widespread distribution of the "Dunny Door" version of map of significant early voyages and maritime exploration of Australia’s coasts. Hard draft of maps and information bites have been finalised. Design of map and information hierarchy has been developed. Webmaster will provide GIS expertise and graphic design. Plotting of ships’ routes and graphic representation to continue. Search for Deadwater Wreck See feature article in this issue. Refuge Bay Project To ensure an appropriate memorial is erected at "The Basin" in Sydney Harbour in recognition of the formulation of the first draft of the Australian Constitution at that location. Working group formed, historical significance documented, historical maps located, bay resurveyed, article written. Nomination for National Heritage List prepared and submitted. Awaiting outcome of nomination for National Heritage List. Ship Images Project A project to place photos and illustrations of iconic vessels, replicas and models on website. Project reformulated to current form. Ships types identified. Working on drawings of ship types and main structural components of sailing ships. Lord Howe Island Scope of project has been agreed. Work to continue on preparation of material for posting/publication on early history and heritage of Lord Howe Island. Research on Sailors/Aboriginal Interaction in WA (linguistics, genetics, biogeography, epidemiology, oral traditions) Collaboration with possible research project in this area. Two DNA testing projects in progress. Media interested. Awaiting outcome of testing and publication of results. Early Indigenous/Indian Contact To research pre- and early post-colonial contact and interaction between Indigenous Australians and people of Indian descent. Research plan developed including prehistory research component and historical research component. Centre of Excellence in Hydrography that incorporates a component of historical cartography To have a Centre of Excellence established which teaches hydrography and cartography and related disciplines and technologies and incorporates a component of historical cartography. Strategic alliances being formed. Sources of funding to be identified at appropriate time. Hydrographic History Display To foster exhibitions and displays on the history of hydrography. The Australian National Maritime Museum has made in principle commitment to a three months exhibition. Being followed up with Director of ANMM. 2016 Dirk Hartog 400th Anniversary Aims and Objectives in development. Initial consultations have taken place with other stakeholders, discussions held with Dutch Ambassador, organisational structure under consideration by stakeholders, notional event program being developed. Further consultation in the near future with other stakeholders to clarify proposed organisational structure and develop proposed event program Publication—The Hydrographic Journal AOTM Division to be handed editorial responsibility for dedicated heritage/maritime history section in The Hydrographic Journal. New publication arrangements for Hydrographic Journal in place. Electronic edition of Hydrographic Journal to be produced by AHS. Curriculum Development Fostering inclusion of early history framework in a national curriculum. National Curriculum Plan Discussion Paper issued, appears to incorporate appropriate component on early Australian history. National Curriculum—History Framing Paper issued, appears to incorporate appropriate component on early Australian history. Will review curriculum content made public. Documentaries and Feature Films To foster the production of TV documentaries and feature films on relevant aspects of early Australian history. Discussions held in last 12 months with three sets of producers, advice and information provided on funding sources, historical background. One project nearing completion, another potential project under consideration.

Members welcome Meetings of the Australia on the Map Division Council are open to all AOTM members who can and would like to attend.

AOTM meets monthly at the National Library in Canberra.

Meetings are held on the first Friday of the month, at 12.30pm in the Friends Lounge of the National Library of Australia in Canberra.

Contacts How to contact the AOTM Division

For more Australia on the Map Division, information Australasian Hydrographic Society go to the AOTM Chair website, Rupert Gerritsen www.australia email: [email protected] onthemap.org.au Secretary Peter Reynders email: [email protected] Map Matters Editor Frank Geurts email: [email protected]

©2009 Australia on the Map Division, Australasian Hydrographic Society.