AUSTRALIAN HISTORY: Dutch Explorers
During the 1500s in the Age of Exploration, when strong European countries with powerful ships began exploring the world, many parts of South America had been taken by the Spanish; the French had established trading posts in Canada and; the British and the Dutch began trading with Asian countries.
In the late 1500s the Dutch (Holland) or the newly formed Republic of the Netherlands built trade routes with the islands of Indonesia which was called the Dutch East Indies back then. By early 1600s Portugal was losing power in South-East Asia. Holland on the other hand was becoming more powerful and controlled the Dutch East Indies. After the Portugese and Spanish had reported that there were new lands in the South Pacific Ocean, the Dutch sent ships to investigate. Willem Jansz, and Dirck Hartog were some of the captains who lead these ships and explored the new area and coastlines of Australia.
Batavia, on the island of Java was the main Dutch base and Dutch traders sailed to the East Indies to take spices, gold and precious metals back to Holland. The route to Java took the Dutch sailors around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa and then they would head south where the Roaring Forties would provide such strong winds that they would travel very quickly across the Indian Ocean before heading north for Java.
Sometimes the Roaring Forties blew the sailing ships further east than the captain intended and sometimes, the captain made mistakes in navigation. This led to some Dutch ships being shipwrecked along Australia’s west coast. When this happened, ships were sent from Java to search for the wrecked ships, and through their voyages, more knowledge about Australia’s western coastline was charted.
The Dutch Explorers:
Willem Janszoon - Willem Janszoon (1570-1630), also known as Willem Jansz was was a Dutch navigator and colonial governor. He was aboard the Hollandia, part of the second fleet dispatched by the Ductch to the Dutch East Indies (what is now Indonesia) in 1598.
Dirk Hartog - In 1611, a new sailing route that stretched across the Pacific Ocean from Cape York, in South Africa to the west coast of Australia was pioneered by Brouwer. This new sailing route took advantage of the powerful winds known as the Roaring Forties. The winds were so powerful that it would blow ships, slamming them into the shores of the western coast of Australia.
Willem de Vlamingh - In 1696, Willem de Vlamingh was sent on a rescue mission to Australia's west coast, or the land of d’Eendracht as it was known at the time, to determine the fate of the ship Ridderschap van Holland that had was thought to have gone missing in the area on its way to Batavia.Jan Carstenz and Willem Van Coolsterd - Jan Carstenz and Willem Van Coolsterd were known for their voyage to the Gulf of Carpentaria, and Darwin area known as Arnhem Land. In 1623, the Dutch East India Company commissioned a voyage to explore further the Cape York area after land sighting reports from Willem Jansz’s voyages in 1606.
Abel Tasman - Tasman was sent from the Dutch East Indies. He sailed south and then east. Although Tasman did not find the continent of Australia, he did come across the island of Tasmania, which he named Van Diemen’s Lad in honour of Anthony Van Diemen, the Dutch governor general of Batavia.