The ''Pera'' and ''Arnhem'' were two ships from the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

(Dutch: ''Vereenigde Oost-Indische Companie'' or ''VOC'') that explored the north Australian coast in 1623.

Arnhem Land Arnhem Land is a historical region of the Northern Territory of Australia, with the term still in use. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the territory and is around from the territory capital, Darwin. In 1623, Dutch East India Compa ...

is named after the ''Arnhem'' while the ship itself was named after the Dutch city

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both ban ...

Purpose

The yacht ''Pera'', captained by

Jan Carstenszoon Jan Carstenszoon or more commonly Jan Carstensz In Dutch patronyms ending in -szoon were almost universally abbreviated to -sz was a 17th-century Dutch explorer. In 1623, Carstenszoon was commissioned by the Dutch East India Company to lead an ...

, and the smaller vessel ''Arnhem'', captained by Willem Joosten van Colster (or Coolsteerdt) sailed from Amboyna on 21 January 1623 with instructions to undertake treaty negotiations with the “natives of Quey, Aroe and Tenimber,” and to further explore “Nova Guinea”, particularly the part of Australia sighted and charted by Willem Janszoon during his voyage in the ''

Duyfken ''Duyfken'' (; Little Dove), also in the form ''Duifje'' or spelled ''Duifken'' or ''Duijfken'', was a small ship built in the Dutch Republic. She was a fast, lightly armed ship probably intended for shallow water, small valuable cargoes, bri ...

'' in 1606.

Course

After travelling along the south coast of New Guinea, they then made for Cape York Peninsula and the

Gulf of Carpentaria The Gulf of Carpentaria (, ) is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea (the body of water that lies between Australia and New Guinea). The northern boundary i ...

. On 14 April 1623 they sailed past Cape Keerweer, the most southerly point reached by the ''

''. Landing in search of fresh water for his stores, Carstenszoon first encountered a party of the

Wik peoples The Wik peoples are an Indigenous Australian group of people from an extensive zone on western Cape York Peninsula in northern Queensland, speaking several different languages. They are from the coastal flood plains bounding the Gulf of Carpentar ...

. Persistent attempts by the Dutch to kidnap Wik men provoked aggressive responses and probably led to a skirmish with 200 Wik warriors at the mouth of small river he named as the Carpentier River, near Cape Duyfken. Carstenszoon reached the Staaten River before heading north again. From here the ''Pera'' and Carstenszoon returned to Ambon, while the ''Arnhem'' crossed the Gulf of Carpentaria, sighting the east coast of

Significance

The voyage by the ''Pera'' and ''Arnhem'' was the tenth contact with Australia, as catalogued in the Landings ListLandings List

Australasian Hydrographic Society The Australasian Hydrographic Society (AHS) is a professional hydrographic organisation covering Australasia, the South West Pacific and South East Asia. It brings together practitioners and representatives of industry in the region, particularly t ...

. compiled by the Australia on the Map Division of the

. A more detailed charting of the Gulf of Carpentaria and Arnhem Land was undertaken by

Abel Tasman Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first known European explorer to reach New ...

in 1644.

Notes

{{reflist

References

* J. E. Heeres.
The Part Borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia
', London: Luzac & Co, 1899, pp. 21–48 1620s in Australia 1623 in Oceania European exploration of Australia History of Queensland History of the Northern Territory Maritime exploration of Australia Maritime history of the Dutch East India Company Wik peoples