Bad weather led Dutch ship into Western Australian coast

Published in the Journal of Maritime Archaeology, Flinders University archaeologists Dr Ruud Stelten and Professor Wendy van Duivenvoorde analysed ship logs, contemporary cartographic and navigational knowledge and weather patterns at the time in a bid to understand how the ship went down.

Four Dutch shipwrecks have been found off the coast of WA within the last century, with the Batavia and the horrors of its mutinous crew arguably the most famous of the collection.

Discovered in 1927 about 60km north of the WA coastal town of Kalbarri, and formally identified in 1958, the Zuytdorp was travelling from the Dutch port of Vlissingen on the way to Batavia, now present-day Jakarta, when it became lost at sea in 1712.

"Since the wreck of the Zuytdorp was identified, many theories exist as to how the ship crashed, including poor navigation or misadventure, but despite being the subject of a number of archaeological investigations, the exact circumstances of the ship's demise have remained unclear," says Dr Stelten from Flinders' College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.

As is the case with other shipwrecks off the coast of WA, one of the leading theories as to why the ship crashed was longitude determination; that is to say without the crew knowing exactly how far east they were and therefore how far away they were from the western coast of Australia, its coastline could suddenly appear without warning.

By analysing contemporary cartographic and navigational knowledge, the authors assessed the charts available to the ship's officers, coastal visibility, and signs indicating proximity to land as recorded in contemporary ship logs.

"Our analysis suggests the Zuytdorp's officers had access to sufficient cartographic information to navigate the Indian Ocean and the Western Australian coastline effectively," says Professor van Duivenvoorde, a leading maritime archaeologist in Flinders' College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.

"The crew noted numerous warning signs that the vessel was nearing the coast and took various measures to avoid a collision, so the theory that they had a sudden and unexpected encounter with the shore is an unlikely scenario."

However, the authors were able to note the evidence of severe weather patterns in the region during the period in question.

"This is a key element to the unravelling of the mystery and shows the more likely scenario is that the ship reached the Australian coastline intentionally and was driven ashore by a storm," says Professor van Duivenvoorde.

The authors say the current research provides, for the first time, a detailed analysis of why one scenario is more likely to have occurred than the other.

"By examining historical records, navigational charts, and weather conditions, we have been able to piece together a more accurate picture of what likely happened to the Zuytdorp all those years ago," says Dr Stelten.

"This study highlights the resilience and navigational skills of the VOC officers. The Zuytdorp's wrecking was not due to a lack of skill or information but rather the unpredictable nature of the sea."

The authors say the findings could point to the location of the ship's lost anchors and could prove a useful method for uncovering what happened to other shipwrecks around the world.