The story of the shipwreck of the Dutch merchant ship, Batavia, is one of Western Australia’s most notorious and gruesome historical events. A mutinous crew, left to fend for themselves without food or water, systematically slaughtered over a hundred passengers marooned on an island with them. It was a bloody and needless massacre.
Eventually, many of the crew were executed, or taken back to the Netherlands for trial.
Two Mutineers Are Abandoned
Two men, Wouter Looes, a former soldier, and a cabin boy named Jan Pelgrom, managed to persuade the Commander of the Batavia to show them mercy. They were to be abandoned on the mainland and left to fulfil their own destiny.
They were marooned on a desolate beach known today to be near Wittecarra Gully, just south of the mouth of the Murchison River near what is now Kalbarri. For some reason the Commander showed them considerable compassion, even though Jan Pelgrom had been seen actively taking part in mutilations and murders. He was known to have become somewhat deranged in his behaviour and it is probable the Commander took pity on him, perhaps because of his age. He was 18 years old. Wouter Looes had shown kindness towards some of the female passengers and it was thought this was the probable reason he, too, was spared.
They were supplied with a small boatload of equipment together with beads and trinkets with which to barter with the natives.
Salvage Crew are Lost
At the same time as this was taking place, other crew members of a rescue ship, the Sardam, were salvaging what they could from the broken Batavia. The Commander of the Batavia had sent a group of men in a small boat on a quest to find any floating debris such as barrels of wine or vinegar. Among them were Jacob Jacobsz, the Sardam’s skipper, Pieter Pietersz, Ariaan Theuwissen and Cornelis Pieterszoon. Unfortunately, it was October, the time of the spring monsoons. A fierce storm arose that lasted for two days. The small boat was carried out to sea, and although the Commander sent out a search party, they were unable to find any sign of the boat or crew.
When the monsoon had abated the Commander headed back to Netherlands aboard the Sardam. Jan Pelgrom, Wouter Looes, and the crew of the small boat, were never heard of again.
Many years later there were rumours of blue-eyed Aborigines in the area, which perhaps suggests that some of the men – or perhaps the two mutineers - had survived.
The story of the shipwreck of the Batavia, and what followed, is told in Mike Dash’s book, Batavia’s Graveyard.
Jane Finch - After 25 years working in Family Law I decided on a career break and have not looked back. Being a homemaker has enabled me to home ...
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