The History of Australian Exploration from 1788 to 1888 | Page 9

In the year 1623,
Governor Coen dispatched two yachts, the PERA and the ARNHEM,

on a voyage of discovery. Landing on the coast of New Guinea,
Captain Jan Carstens, of the ARNHEM, and eight of his crew were
murdered by the natives, but the vessels proceeded, and touched upon
the north coast of New Holland, west of the Gulf of Carpentaria, still
known as Arnhem's Land. A river, the Spult, is here laid down in the
old charts, in the vicinity of the present Liverpool River, and there is
also another opening marked the "Speult," on the eastern side of the
Gulf, since determined to be the Endeavour Strait of Captain Cook,
At Arnhem's Land the yachts parted, the Pera continuing the voyage
alone. Crossing the head of the Gulf she followed the course of the
DUYFHEN, and passing Cape Keer-Weer, made as far south as 17
degrees, where the Staaten River is laid down. Their report was also
unfavourable, and is summed up in the official dispatches of the
company, thus:--"In this discovery were found everywhere shallow
waters and barren coasts, islands altogether thinly peopled by divers
cruel, poor, and brutal nations, and of very little use to the Dutch East
India Company." Pera Head, in the Gulf, is another memorial of this
voyage.
Now came the turn of the south coast of New Holland. In 1627,
Captain Pieter Nuyts, in his ship the GULDE ZEEPARD, accidentally
touched on the south coast. He followed it along for seven or eight
hundred miles, and bestowed on it the name of Pieter Nuyts' Land. The
VIANEN sighted the west coast in 1628, and kept in sight of it for
some two hundred miles, reporting "a foul and barren shore, green
fields; and very wild, black, barbarous inhabitants."
The wreck of the BATAVIA on Houtman's Abrolhos, in 1629, is one of
the most tragic incidents in early Australian history. The BATAVIA,
commanded by Commodore Francis Pelsart, was separated from her
consorts by a storm, and during the night of the 4th of June struck on
the rocks of Frederick Houtman. The crew and passengers were landed
on one island, and two small islets in the neighbourhood, and the ship
broke up. No fresh water was found, and Pelsart sailed in one of the
boats in search of some on the mainland. He was unsuccessful, and
finally steered for Batavia. Meanwhile, a terrible scene of riot and

murder was enacted. Jerome Cornelis, the supercargo, headed a mutiny,
and those refusing to join his band were in part cruelly assassinated.
One company however, on one of the islets, in charge of Weybehays
defended themselves valiantly, finally taking Cornelis prisoner. Fresh
water was found, and the two hostile camps awaited the reappearance
of Pelsart. The design of the mutineers had been to surprise Pelsart on
his return, capture his vessel, and sail away on a piratical cruise. The
determined front shown by Weybehays and his party, who, although
unarmed, had twice defeated them with some slaughter, disarranged
their plans.
When the SARDAM, with Pelsart on board, hove in sight of the
Abrolhos, the smoke rising from the islands assured the captain, who
was naturally tormented with anxiety, that some, at any rate survived.
To their surprise, a boat came off to meet them, pulled by men dressed
in rich uniforms, made from the silks and stuffs that had formed part of
the BATAVIA'S cargo. Pelsart's suspicions were at once aroused,
knowing as he did, that insubordination had &hewn itself even before
his departure. These men were ordered to come on board unarmed, with
the alternative of being sunk, and Weybehays coming off at the same
time, they had no choice but to obey, and the whole of the mutineers
were soon in irons. After recovering most of the treasure, with the
exception of one chest, containing eight' thousand rix dollars, a
consultation was held as to the fate of the murderers. It was
unanimously decided that, having in view the overcrowded state of the
ship, and the temptation presented by the recovered treasure, the
presence of such turbulent spirits on board would be dangerous to the
safety of the company. Therefore, it was thought best to try the
offenders there and then, instead of taking them to Batavia. This was
done, and the sentences at once carried into effect. Two men, however,
were condemned to the more lingering punishment of being marooned
on the mainland, there to meet a cruel death at the hands of the savages.
These two blood-stained criminals were the first Europeans to leave
their bones in Australia, an unhappy omen of the future. According to
the instructions issued to Tasman, on his second voyage, he was
directed to "enquire at the continent thereabout" (i.e., the
neighbourhood of the Abrolhos) "after two Dutchmen, who,