Community to decide how to commemorate the 300 and 400-year anniversaries of Zeewijk and Batavia wrecks

Local historian Howard Gray is holding community forums to uncover ideas about how to commemorate the 300 and 400-year anniversaries of the Zeewijk and Batavia wrecks on the Houtman Abrolhos Islands.

June 9, 2027 will mark 300 years since the Dutch trading ship Zeewijk struck Half Moon Reef in the Southern Group of the Abrolhos Islands.

There have been other shipwrecks in the area, most notably the Batavia, with its remarkable story of piracy, murder and heroism on the high seas, wrecking off the Wallabi group on June 4, 1629.

The shipwrecks predate European settlement in Australia and offer insights into some of the first recorded encounters between Europeans and Indigenous Australians.

Ideas for the anniversary include re-enacting the construction of the longboat built by the Zeewijk survivors, sometimes referred to as Sloepie or Turtledove, on the Geraldton foreshore, using tools and materials available to the 18th century passengers and crew.

For the Batavia anniversary there is a possibility of transporting a full-scale replica built in 1995, currently moored at Lelystad in the Netherlands. The replica had previously travelled to Australia for the Sydney Olympics in 2000.

Other options are working with local theatre groups to produce themed performances around the events of the shipwrecks, street art, murals, exhibitions and educational programs.

The story of the Zeewijk and her 208 crew has been overshadowed by the epic tale of the Batavia but is just as extraordinary.

Almost a century after the Batavia debacle, relatively inexperienced skipper Jan Steyn followed the Brouwer Route across the roaring 40s of the southern Indian Ocean, judging the turn north too late and colliding with the island group.

It took 16 days to ferry the passengers through the rough surf to safety on nearby Gun Island, chosen for its supply of fresh water, seals and migrating mutton birds.

A longboat and 12 sailors were sent to organise a rescue mission but were never seen again, presumed lost at sea.

Following this, the remaining survivors began to build a new vessel, a sloop, from the salvaged wreckage of the Zeewijk. The journey took five months, the small sailboat transporting the 88 marooned castaways 2000km from the Abrolhos Islands to their intended destination at Batavia in modern day Jakarta. Amazingly, 82 of the passengers survived.

It is hoped the community workshops will help find other creative ideas. They will be held between 10am-12.30pm on Friday, June 6 and Saturday, June 7 at Batavia Brewery in Geraldton.

To book and to receive an information pack email hsgray@midwest.com.