() was a ship belonging to the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

. It sailed along the south coast of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

from

Cape Leeuwin Cape Leeuwin is the most south-westerly (but not most southerly) mainland point of the Australian continent, in the state of Western Australia. Description A few small islands and rocks, the St Alouarn Islands, extend further in Flinders ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

to the

Nuyts Archipelago The Nuyts Archipelago is an island group in South Australia in the Great Australian Bight, to the south of the town of Ceduna on the west coast of the Eyre Peninsula. It consists of mostly granitic islands and reefs that provide breedin ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

early in 1627. The captain was

François Thijssen François Thijssen or Frans Thijsz (died 13 October 1638?) was a Dutch- French explorer who explored the southern coast of Australia. He was the captain of the ship t Gulden Zeepaerdt'' (''The Golden Seahorse'') when sailing from Cape of Good ...

Details of the voyage

On 22 May 1626 sailed from the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

under the command of Francois Thijssen (sometimes recorded as Thijszoon and Thyssen). Also on board was

Pieter Nuyts Pieter Nuyts or Nuijts (159811 December 1655) was a Dutch Exploration, explorer, diplomat and politician. He was part of a landmark expedition of the Dutch East India Company in 1626–1627 which mapped the southern coast of Australia. He bec ...

, extraordinary member of the Dutch East India Company's Council of India, their executive body in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

. It appears that in January 1627 the vessel encountered Australia in the vicinity of Cape Leeuwin. Instead of turning north to make for Batavia, as required by Dutch ships of this period, following what is known as the

Brouwer Route The Brouwer Route was a 17th-century route used by ships sailing from the Cape of Good Hope to the Dutch East Indies, as the eastern leg of the Cape Route. The route took ships south from the Cape (which is at 34° latitude south) into the Roari ...

, it continued along the south coast of Australia for a distance of . They reached St Francis and St Peter Islands in what is now known as the Nuyts Archipelago, off Ceduna in South Australia. Thijssen mapped the coastline around Fowlers Bay. It has been assumed that one of the trees that was examined during the transit across the south coast of what is now Western Australia was the

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...

(Nuytsia floribunda). The South Australian coast has also been recognized as a point of contact. What transpired during this part of the voyage is not known in detail as no log survives. The principal evidence consists of contemporary maps, a brief reference to the voyage in the daily register at Batavia for 1627, and in instructions to Gerrit Thomaszoon Pool in 1636 and

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

in 1644. reached Batavia on 10 April 1627. Records indicate that 30 men died during the voyage. The region they encountered became known as ''Nuyts Land''. Nuyts had also been on board which sighted and named Cape Leeuwin in 1622. According to the Landings ListLandings List
compiled by the Australia on the Map Division of the Australasian Hydrographic Society, was the 13th recorded European contact with Australia.

Details of the voyage

References

Sources

Further reading