Batavia the ship

She was a very large ship for the time. 160 Amsterdam feet (45 metres), not including the bowsprit etc.

The Batavia was re-constructed, using the old techniques, in the 1990′s. She was built in Lelystad, in the Netherlands by a group of enthusiastic people eager to learn some  new (old) skills. Since then, the ship visited Sydney during the Olympic Games in 2000. She didn’t sail – she was brought on a container ship. But while in Sydney, she underwent sea trials in the Pacific. I was privileged to see her both at home in Lelystad and again in Sydney. One of the things that really stayed with me was the dark, cramped Orlop deck, where the soldiers were housed (confined) for their long journey from Amsterdam to Batavia. I can’t imagine how they would have felt in the crowded, cramped darkness where they couldn’t even stand upright, when the ship hit a reef at night.

The wreck of the Batavia was not found until 1963. This was because the longitude recorded at the time of the wreck was incorrect. Henrietta Drake-Brockman, who had been fascinated with the story for years, deduced which island was Batavia’s Graveyard and the reef where the wreck would be found, from Pelsaert’s descriptions in his journal. You can find out more about the  archaeology of the wreck and the murders in Batavia Overview, a journal of the WA Museum.

Below are some pictures of the reconstructed vessel, taken at her berth in Lelystad.