Willem de Vlamingh
In 1694 the Ridderschap Van Holland was lost en route to Batavia. The Dutch VOC sent out a fleet commanded by Willem de Vlamingh to find her. The fleet was made up of Geelvinck, the Nijptang, and 't Weseltje. On the 29th December 1696, de Vlamingh's fleet reached Western Australia and anchored off Rottnest Island out from Perth. There they found the quokkas of course and remains of a shipwreck. They sent boats to the mainland of Western Australia and went up the Swan River about 90 kilometers. They ate nuts from the Zamia palm and were sick. Aboriginals knew that you had to get the poison out of them before eating. And of course they saw lots of black swans.
Willem de Vlamingh sailed north on 13 january 1670 and landed frequently finding little water or safe anchorages. On the 21st January they went ashore at the estuary of the Murchison River, near Kalbarri and pushed inland looking for water but found none. The next day they went further north, along the steep cliffs towards Shark Bay where they explored for forty kilometers inland. They located the tin plate that Dirk Hartog had left behind.
Willem de Vlamingh set sail on the 12th February from Shark Bay and sailed north till they got to the North West Cape and sailed into Exmouth Gulf on the 12th February. They set sail again and steered NNW away from the coast of West Australia.
Willem de Vlamingh Resources
Google Earth - de Vlamingh voyage to west australia
Google Maps - de Vlamingh from Perth to Exmouth
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