| The Vergulde Draeck was a jacht purchased by the Amsterdam Chamber of the Dutch East India Company in 1653. |
The Vessel had a cargo capacity of 130 lasten. Its first trading voyage was between Holland and the East Indies.
Setting sail on 4 October 1655 under the command of Pieter Albertsz, the Vergulde Draeck, left for Batavia with a crew of 193 men, eight chests of silver coins and a cargo of trade goods with a combined worth of over 180,000 guilders.
Following the Brouwers route, Vergulde Draeck left the Cape of Good Hope with intentions of making use of the prevailing winds, crossing 7,000 kilometres of Indian Ocean before turning north toward the East Indies.
However, without the ability to properly establish its location, the vessel struck a reef off the Western Australian coast north of Yanchep on the morning of 28 April 1656.
Two of the ship's boats were launched but only 75 crew members survived, along with a few of the provisions and stores.
Seven of the crew were immediately dispatched to seek assistance in Batavia, while Albertsz and the rest of the crew remained behind.
Several expeditions were mounted in the following year, but all failed to turn up any signs of the missing crew, although some wreckage was noted in the region of Fremantle.
|