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Batavia

Batavia’s Graveyard is being excavated at last #history
28 Apr 2015

Batavia’s Graveyard is being excavated at last #history

by Greta | posted in: History | 0

It’s been a while since I wrote a Batavia post. It has also been a while since Beacon Island (Batavia’s Graveyard) has been vacated and the fishing shacks removed. With those impediments to a proper investigation out of the way, … Continued

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Batavia, Batavia's graveyard, beacon island, history, murder, Pelsaert, skeletons
Maybe now the ghosts will rest in peace
4 Feb 2015

Maybe now the ghosts will rest in peace

by Greta | posted in: History | 1

I read today in a newspaper article that systematic excavation of Beacon Island in the Abrolhos group off the West Australian coast has begun with the discovery of a new grave. That might not mean much to many of you, … Continued

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abrolhos, archaeology, Batavia, Batavia wreck, Batavia's graveyard, beacon island, marine archaeology, maritime history, Pelsaert
Is Pelsaert’s journal an accurate account of the Batavia shipwreck?
5 Feb 2014

Is Pelsaert’s journal an accurate account of the Batavia shipwreck?

by Greta | posted in: History | 1

Many ships have been wrecked over the centuries. Most of their names became nothing more than ciphers in the ocean of history. But the wreck of the Dutch East Indies merchantman Batavia on remote islands off the coast of Australia … Continued

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Batavia, Dutch East Indies company, Historical fiction, Pelsaert, ship wreck, true story
A triumph for an amateur historian
7 Oct 2013

A triumph for an amateur historian

by Greta | posted in: History | 0

In 1963, the last resting place of the Dutch merchantman Batavia, which hit a reef on the Abrolhos islands off the coast of Western Australia in 1629, was finally found. 1963. It had taken three hundred and eighty-four years before … Continued

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50 years, abrolhos islands, amateur historian, Batavia, Batavia found, Batavia wreck, fiftieth anniversary, greta van der rol, history, Pelsaert, wreck site found
The world has continued to turn
7 Sep 2013

The world has continued to turn

by Greta | posted in: Life and things, Photography | 6

It’s always interesting returning to a place you knew very, very well. You have a picture in your head, a deep memory in glowing technicolour. The beach, sunset on the river, summer days, winter storms, road junctions, how to get … Continued

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Batavia, Duyfken, Fremantle, memories, Perth, walkabout
That’s one ticked off the bucket list
25 Aug 2013

That’s one ticked off the bucket list

by Greta | posted in: History, Life and things | 10

A visit to the Abrolhos Islands has been on my bucket list for a long time and now I’ve finally done it. On a picture-perfect day we flew out of Geraldton airport on a small plane, headed for the Abrolhos … Continued

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Batavia, Geraldton, shipwreck Abrolhos islands, To Die a Dry Death, walkabout
A place like home
14 Apr 2013

A place like home

by Greta | posted in: History | 0

Although the vast majority of the action in To Die a Dry Death happens on the Abrolhos Islands, some of it takes place in the city of Batavia itself. Pelsaert had a meeting with Governor Jan Pieterszoon Coen to inform … Continued

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Batavia, Coen, Dutch East India company, European settlement, Indonesia, researching details, Specx
Murder most foul
7 Apr 2013

Murder most foul

by Greta | posted in: History | 0

In a couple of previous posts, I’ve described how Jeronimus Cornelisz gradually built up his power base in the Abrolhos Islands, before starting his reign of terror in earnest. First, he took control of the ship’s council, which governed the … Continued

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abrolhos islands, Batavia, Cornelisz, murder, shipwreck survivors, Wiebbe Hayes
The first murders
2 Mar 2013

The first murders

by Greta | posted in: History | 2

In my last post, I described how Jeronimus Cornelisz, arch-villain of the Batavia shipwreck survivors, divided his flock by setting up settlements on different islands. He’d promised all of them to supply them with provisions from the central store, a … Continued

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abrolhos, Batavia, Cornelisz, Historical fiction, history, Jeronimus Cornelisz, murders, shipwreck, To Die a Dry Death
Full marks for deviousness and cunning
12 Feb 2013

Full marks for deviousness and cunning

by Greta | posted in: History | 5

Jeroniumus Cornelisz has gone down in history as a mass murderer, responsible for the deaths of around one hundred people who had survived the horror of the wreck of the Batavia in 1629. To give him his due, you’d have … Continued

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abrolhos islands, Australian history, Batavia, Cornelisz, murder, shipwreck survivors

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