"Zuytdorp" Memorial Print Page

The monument commemorates the 300th Anniversary of the Zuytdorp, which was shipwrecked on the West Australia coast 60 kilometres north of Kalbarri in June 1712. 

It features a Commemorative Plaque on a plinth accompanied by two Information Panels and featured seating. 

The Information Panels provide  details of –

• The Zuytdorp and its trade route to the East Indies.
• Possible reasons for the ship’s demise on the rugged Western Australian coastline 60kms north of Kalbarri in an area now known the Zuytdorp Cliffs.
• The mystery of whether there were survivors and their fate.
• The recorded discovery of the wreck site in 1927

The plaque is made of stainless steel, silver in colour to represent the “Carpet of Silver” as depicted by Phillip Playford in his book Carpet of Silver: the Wreck of the Zuytdorp to describe the multitude of 1711 silver coins being carried by the Zuytdorp on its fateful trip that are now scattered over the ocean floor at the shipwreck site. The actual site of the shipwreck is a very dangerous part of the coastline and is now a protected area.

The Zuytdorp (“South Village”) was a Dutch East India Company merchant ship smashed against Shark Bay’s coastal cliffs in June 1712 whilst voyaging to Batavia (Jakarta, Indonesia). Aboard the Zuytdorp were about 200 passengers and crew and a rich cargo, including 248,000 silver coins. The precise circumstances of the wreck remain a mystery, because no survivors reached Batavia to tell the tale. Some did live for a time in Shark Bay, however, where they were helped by local Aboriginal people. This contact with Europeans was probably the first ever made by Australia’s indigenous people.

Location

Details

Dedication