Fremantle part 3, the Duyfken
In 1606, the small Dutch ship Duyfken sailed from the Indonesian island of Banda in search of gold and trade opportunities on the fabled island of Nova Guinea.
Under the command of Willem Janszoon, Duyfken and her crew ventured south-east. They sailed beyond Os Papuas (Papua New Guinea)and explored and chartered part of the coast of Nova Guinea. They did not find gold – but they did find the northern coast of a huge continent: Australia. Captain Janszoon was the first European to map and record Australia in history so Duyfken‘s voyage marks the beginning of Australia’s recorded history.
In Fremantle, the replica of the Duyfken is presently at Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour and this was on our list of things to see.
Duyfken has been designed as an authentic replica. Installation of modern machinery and extra ballasting to comply with current survey requirements were undertaken after initial sailing trials. Duyfken performs well under sail, or so we were told.
Duyfken is remarkable not only because she is the first Dutch “jacht” to sail from Indonesia to Australia in 350 years, and more recently to sail from Australia to The Netherlands in a recreation of a Dutch spice voyage, but because the impetus to build the ship and sail the expedition came not from governments or corporations, but through an enormous community effort.
I can’t imagine sailing from Australia to The Netherlands (or the other way around in the original) in it, there wasn’t a lot of room.
There wasn’t much room inside either.
An example of how they ate.
400 year old bricks from the original Duyfken
The galley where they did the cooking. Not far from where they had to do their business in a makeshift bathroom. Made me certain I knew why they would leave with a crew of 30 and return with about half that.
Our guides took our photo in front of the Duyfken.
You can build your own Duyfken, HERE!
