Name/TitleModel of the ship BATAVIA
About this objectReplica model of the ship BATAVIA.
The VOC’s flagship BATAVIA (VOC Chamber Amsterdam) left Texel, Holland on 27 October 1628 on her maiden voyage to the East Indies under the command of Francisco Pelsaert, carrying silver coins, other valuables and sandstone blocks for a portico to be erected in the city of Batavia.
On the morning of the 4th of June 1629, the BATAVIA was wrecked on Mornington Reef on the Houtman Abrolhos off the cost of Western Australia. After a fruitless search for water, Commander Pelsaert sailed on of the ship’s boats 33 days to Batavia, to obtain help. In the days following, under-merchant Jeronimus Cornelisz seized control and embarked on a campaign of murder, rape, sexual slavery and torture against the survivors encamped on Beacon and Traitor Islands.
A group of soldiers led by Wiebbe Hayes were marooned on another island and when Cornelisz attempted to attack and kill them, he and five of his co-conspirators were overpowered and held until Pelsaert returned from Batavia on the yacht SARDAM. On 2 October 1629, following the confession of their crimes, the condemned mutineers had their right hands cut off and in the case of Cornelisz both hands, prior to being put to death on the gallows. Two men were left behind as punishment and some of the lesser offenders were taken back to Batavia for trial where many were executed.
Out of over 300 people aboard the BATAVIA, only 116 survived what remains one of the bloodiest and tragic episodes of Australia’s early history.
MakerThe Model Shipyard - Model maker
Maker RoleModel maker
Date MadeModern reproduction
Period21st century
Place MadeAustralia
Medium and MaterialsWood, canvas
Object TypeShip Models
Object numberSF001638
Copyright Licence
Attribution - Non-commercial - No Derivatives (cc)
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The mug is decorated with an underglaze and a blue transfer print. On the body, it is titled ‘Emigrants to Australia’. This type of body and glaze was discontinued by 1840. Comparison of the handle shape and the profile of the foot, point to the attribution of manufacture by the Davenport Factory.
Delta was a ship-rigged vessel with two decks and three masts. It was built in Dordrecht, Netherlands in 1839 at the shipyard of Jan Schouten and registered in the same port. Its hull was constructed of oak and sheathed in ‘yellow metal’. Delta was owned by H. van der Sande at the time of its loss and was engaged as a cargo trader.
The Delta carried 29 crew and passengers, while sailing from Melbourne to Batavia in ballast when wrecked at Kenn Reefs on 30 May 1854 whilst under the command of Captain J.G. Kunst. This vessel loss supports the pattern of shipwrecks located on a well-travelled shipping route that was poorly charted until the mid-nineteenth century. The crew of the Delta could see four other shipwrecks at Kenn Reefs at the time of their vessel’s loss.
Important image of a ship associated with Matthew Flinders, that would shortly become one of the most famous early shipwrecks in eastern Australian waters. This is a fine ship’s portrait, by one of the great exponents of the art