400 years Netherlands-Australia: Explorers: Shipwreck: The Vergulde Draeck (1656)

Map of Eendrachtsland made by Samuel Volckersen, master of the Wakende Boei, during his search for the Vergulde Draeck, 1658.

The Vergulde Draeck (1656)

In October 1655 the yacht Vergulde Draeck left Texel for Batavia, in the service of the Amsterdam Chamber of the Dutch East India Company. Its cargo was worth over 100,000 guilders. Eight chests containing silver coins alone were worth 78,600 guilders. After taking on supplies at the Cape of Good Hope, Pieter Albertsz., the master, sailed eastwards along the route laid down by the VOC directors since 1616.

On 28 April 1656, the Vergulde Draeck ran aground on a reef off the Australian coast. The ship broke in two and 118 people and the cargo were lost. The second mate and six sailors headed for Batavia in a small open boat, leaving the captain and 67 other survivors behind. The boat reached Batavia five weeks later, on 7 June 1656.

The governor-general took immediate action, despatching two vessels – the Goede Hoop and the Witte Valk – to the rescue the next day. Both returned empty-handed. Rough seas had prevented the Witte Valk from approaching the coast. The Goede Hoop had made a landing but had lost a boat and 11 men in doing so.

Since more people were now missing, another rescue attempt was considered. As an incentive, the Council of the Indies promised to reward the crew with some of the money in the cargo. The Wakende Boei, with a crew of 40 under Samuel Volkersen, and the Emeloort, with a crew of 25 under Aucke Pietersz. Jonck, left Batavia on 1 January 1658 to make another attempt at a rescue. The crew of the Emeloort sighted the South Land and sailed along the coast for several weeks without finding the wreck of the Vergulde Draeck or any of its ship’s company. But they did make charts and come face to face with some aborigines. The Dutch were struck by their imposing stature.

The Wakende Boei sighted the South Land on 23 February. Its crew, too, went ashore several times and found wreckage from the Vergulde Draeck. In doing so, a shore-going boat with 14 men aboard was lost. Five months later, to everyone’s amazement, four survivors from this boat appeared in Japara on Java.

Thwarted by bad weather and other factors, the Emeloort and the Wakende Boei gave up the attempt and met off the westernmost point of Java, from where they returned to Batavia together. This marked the end of efforts to find the remains of the Vergulde Draeck.

Nearly three hundred years later, in 1931, a boy found some 40 coins dating from between 1619 and 1655 in the sand just north of Cape Leschenault. These were assumed to come from the Vergulde Draeck. But the ship itself was not found until 1963, when scuba divers discovered a wreck on a reef 12 km south of Ledge Point. It contained cannon, anchors, and elephant tusks from Africa – a much sought-after trade item in the 17th century.

In 1972, a large, well-equipped expedition investigated the site. Its finds – large numbers of beardman jugs, hundreds of clay pipes, numerous fragments of leather shoes, and drumsticks – revealed a detailed picture of what a 17th-century merchantman carried on the voyage to the East Indies. And indeed, a document of 1656 in which the governor-general listed the items to be sent from the Netherlands the following year included a request for Spanish leather shoes and drumsticks.

Back

	Map of Eendrachtsland made by Samuel Volckersen, master of the Wakende Boei, during his search for the Vergulde Draeck, 1658. The Vergulde Draeck (1656) In October 1655 the yacht Vergulde Draeck left Texel for Batavia, in the service of the Amsterdam Chamber of the Dutch East India Company. Its cargo was worth over 100,000 guilders. Eight chests containing silver coins alone were worth 78,600 guilders. After taking on supplies at the Cape of Good Hope, Pieter Albertsz., the master, sailed eastwards along the route laid down by the VOC directors since 1616. On 28 April 1656, the Vergulde Draeck ran aground on a reef off the Australian coast. The ship broke in two and 118 people and the cargo were lost. The second mate and six sailors headed for Batavia in a small open boat, leaving the captain and 67 other survivors behind. The boat reached Batavia five weeks later, on 7 June 1656. The governor-general took immediate action, despatching two vessels – the Goede Hoop and the Witte Valk – to the rescue the next day. Both returned empty-handed. Rough seas had prevented the Witte Valk from approaching the coast. The Goede Hoop had made a landing but had lost a boat and 11 men in doing so. Since more people were now missing, another rescue attempt was considered. As an incentive, the Council of the Indies promised to reward the crew with some of the money in the cargo. The Wakende Boei, with a crew of 40 under Samuel Volkersen, and the Emeloort, with a crew of 25 under Aucke Pietersz. Jonck, left Batavia on 1 January 1658 to make another attempt at a rescue. The crew of the Emeloort sighted the South Land and sailed along the coast for several weeks without finding the wreck of the Vergulde Draeck or any of its ship’s company. But they did make charts and come face to face with some aborigines. The Dutch were struck by their imposing stature. The Wakende Boei sighted the South Land on 23 February. Its crew, too, went ashore several times and found wreckage from the Vergulde Draeck. In doing so, a shore-going boat with 14 men aboard was lost. Five months later, to everyone’s amazement, four survivors from this boat appeared in Japara on Java. Thwarted by bad weather and other factors, the Emeloort and the Wakende Boei gave up the attempt and met off the westernmost point of Java, from where they returned to Batavia together. This marked the end of efforts to find the remains of the Vergulde Draeck. Nearly three hundred years later, in 1931, a boy found some 40 coins dating from between 1619 and 1655 in the sand just north of Cape Leschenault. These were assumed to come from the Vergulde Draeck. But the ship itself was not found until 1963, when scuba divers discovered a wreck on a reef 12 km south of Ledge Point. It contained cannon, anchors, and elephant tusks from Africa – a much sought-after trade item in the 17th century. In 1972, a large, well-equipped expedition investigated the site. Its finds – large numbers of beardman jugs, hundreds of clay pipes, numerous fragments of leather shoes, and drumsticks – revealed a detailed picture of what a 17th-century merchantman carried on the voyage to the East Indies. And indeed, a document of 1656 in which the governor-general listed the items to be sent from the Netherlands the following year included a request for Spanish leather shoes and drumsticks.