EXPLORING AUSTRALIA’S COASTLINE

Captain Dirck Hartogh nails his plate to a post in WA in 1616.

Credit: http://www.voc.iinet.net.au/.

Permission was kindly granted by the VOC Society for the use of the information contained in this title. Website details are at http://www.voc.iinet.net.au/.

Preface

The VOC Historical Society was formed in 2000 in Western Australia by a group of history enthusiasts.

The Society is concerned at the apparent lack of knowledge about maritime events that took place in the 17th and 18th centuries off and on WA’s coastline hundreds of years before the settlement of WA in 1829. It is also interested in finding out what happened to the survivors of Dutch shipwrecks and those marooned on WA soil during that period.

Hence the Society’s two objectives are:

• To enhance the history of Western Australia by adding another two hundred years to its record and to make this history extensively known.
• To investigate information concerning evidence of shipwreck survivors’ habitats on Australian soil and the extent to which survivors made contact with local aboriginal groups, the degree of integration and its effect on aboriginal culture, practices and lifestyle.

In fulfilling these objectives the Society will be “Enriching Australian History”

VOC stands for Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (United East Indies Company). It was formed in the Netherlands in 1602 with the aim of sending ships to East Asia to buy pepper, cinnamon and other spices and trade them on European markets. The VOC grew rapidly to become a multinational company with trading forts in southern Africa and all over Asia. Halfway through the 18th century, the VOC employed 25,000 persons, 3,000 in the Netherlands. The VOC built its own ships, a total of 1,500, which together made 5,000 journeys to Asia. They established a network of trading posts stretching from the Persian Gulf to the Chinese Sea. The VOC ended its existence as a trading company in 1800.

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