The Coming of Dutch Navigators

THIS article, leading up to the early days of Eyre Peninsula and the coming of the Dutch, was written especially for 'The Port Lincoln Times '' by Mr. J. D. Somerville, whose recent series of articles on early Port Lincoln, published in these columns, created interest. The second of the present series of articles will appear next week.

The southern coast of Australia was unknown before 1627, in which year Pieter Nuyts sailed along it, from Cape Leeuwin to about Decres Bay. Nuyts was of Dutch nationality. The mention of that race brings forcibly to our minds the important part they played in the discovery of Australia, or as they termed it, the Great South Land, which name was replaced, subsequently by New Holland. 

In the early days, there were all sorts of myths, surmises and conjectures of a great unknown land, in the southern hemisphere, some large mass of land that was necessary to balance the continents in the northern. 

Many nations claim to have been the first to sight this unknown land, but the Dutch were the first, definitely, to break the continuity of these conjectures. Mr. R. H. Major, of the British Museum, in 1859, after a careful search and considering every fact wrote: — 'The commander of the Duyfhen made the first authenticated discovery of any part of the Great South Land about March, 1606.' The boat, whose name signified ' Little Dove,' was a yacht of 30 tons and was commanded by Willem Janz. The land sighted was on the western shore of Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. The names Duyfhen Point and Cape Keerweer (meaning turn again) are reminders of that trip. 

Luis Vaez de Torres, a Spaniard, three months afterwards sailed through the straits which now bear his name, and he possibly sighted the hills at Cape York. From then onwards the Dutch were constantly adding to the world's knowledge of the western shore of Australia. ' 

The Dutch were largely interested in the East Indies for commercial purposes, and ships were constantly plying between the Netherlands and Java and the islands. The shipping route leading to those islands, after passing round the Cape of Good Hope, was to Madagascar and thence north-easterly to the islands, on which course ships frequently met with contrary winds. About 1611, vessels sailing on an easterly course after doubling the Cape, found that the prevailing winds gave them a better run than the old north-easterly one. By this route, ships touched the western coast of Australia in various places, accidentally discovering and mapping new points on the shore line. 

The Dutch discoveries were made purposely and accidentally. Some ships, were sent out definitely to find new lands. For instance, ' Heemskerk ' and ' Zeelian ' with Abel Tasman in command, was one, and other ships steering for a fixed point, got out of their course and through not turning northward soon enough found unmapped shores. The ' Leeuwin ' and ' Gulden Zeepaard,' come under this class.

 In 1622 the Dutch got the first glimpse of the southern coast, for in that year the ship 'Leeuwin' (captain unknown) from the Netherlands, accidentally made a landfall at the south western extremity of Australia and doubtless the skipper mapped the corner. The coast was uninteresting and was described as ' dunes with trees and underwood on top, low land seemingly submerged by the tide.' This is certainly not a description that would lead to further search. The mapping was not done sufficiently far eastward to say definitely whether the coast receded to the east or whether the bend seen was only part of a large bight on the north-south coast line. Cape Leeuwin was named by Capt. Flinders. 

In the same year, an English ship, Trial (Triall or Tryal) was wrecked on the western coast of Western Australia and some of the shipwrecked sailors reached Java, but most of them were lost. This wreck then became the pivotal point in connection with the further search of the south land and the southern coast. For the safety of ships sailing to the East Indies, the Governor-General (Jan Pieterzoon Coen), decided as a result, that it was time the western coast should be properly surveyed and chartered. He therefore issued instructions to the ships ' Haringh ' and ' Hasewint,' which through unforeseen circumstances, did not sail on their ordained expedition, and the opportunity was missed of making discoveries of far-reaching extent. ' When you shall have come upon the South Land or near it,' read the instructions, ' you will skirt the coast as far as latitude 50 deg. in case the land should fall off before you have reached the said latitude. You will follow its eastern extension for some time, and finding no further extension southward, you will not proceed further east, but turn back.' 

The thoroughness of the instructions may be gathered by another extract from the same document. The main object of the expedition was 'to discover and survey all capes, forelands, bights, lands, islands, rocks, reefs, sandbanks, depths, shallows, roads, winds, currents, and all that appertains to them, so as to be able to map out and duly mark everything in its true latitude, longitude, bearings and conformations ' and again, ' to all the places which you shall touch at, you will give appropriate names .... of all which places, lands, and islands, the com mander and officers of these yachts .... will by solemn declaration, signed by the ships' council, take formal possession.' After that follows minute instructions about taking possession, a list of trade material to be carried, cautions for the men when landing on strange shores and instructions about the treatment of natives. The instructions were ' given in the fortress of Jacatra. this 29th of September A.D. 1622.'