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This clip shows the final journey of the Batavia, from its last port of call in Cape Town, in what is now South Africa, to its shipwreck on the Abrolhos Islands off the coast of Western Australia. Shots of maps and charts from the 17th century and the sound of waves and creaking timbers are used to depict the progress of the ship. A narrator describes the journey and introduces the central character, mutineer Cornelisz. Images of the moon, illustrations of a shipwreck, waves and a model boat are used in rapid succession to portray the shipwreck of the Batavia. A narrated diary excerpt from one of the survivors describes how the passengers and crew struggled ashore. The final shots are of the coral reef itself and an aerial view of the island as it is today.

Educational value points

• The Batavia was a Dutch East Indies ship that, on its maiden voyage and carrying 341 people, sailed from the Netherlands, rounded the Cape of Good Hope and crossed the Indian Ocean heading for Jakarta (formerly Batavia) to collect a cargo of spice. The Batavia’s rich cargo included silver coins, jewels, wines and cheeses and may have tempted the crew to mutiny. Jeronimus Cornelisz conspired with others on board to mutiny but, before the mutiny had taken place, poor navigation resulted in the ship hitting a reef on Beacon Island, one of the Abrolhos island group (now known as the Wallabi islands) off the coast of WA.

• This clip shows one of the most grisly episodes in Australia’s early history. Forty people died as the Batavia broke up. With no fresh water on any of the islands in the group, the survivors were reliant on rainfall. Francisco Pelsaert, who was in command of the Batavia, and approximately 50 other people, made their way to Batavia in two open boats to get help, returning 3 months later. During the time they were gone, Cornelisz conducted a reign of terror in which 125 men, women and children were killed. He plotted to seize the rescue ship but when it arrived, the crew were alerted to Cornelisz’s plans and he and his men were executed. Of the 341 people who originally set sail, only 68 completed the voyage.

• The Batavia was a ship of the Dutch East India Company. By 1628, when the Batavia was built (1 year before the events depicted), the Dutch East India Company had been trading for 26 years. In 1602, the Dutch Government awarded it a monopoly on colonising activities in Asia where it set about establishing headquarters on Java and outposts throughout Asia. With its own army of more than 10,000 soldiers, 40 warships and 150 merchant ships, the Dutch East India Company was the richest private company in the world, the first multinational company and the first to have shares and pay dividends. The company was finally dissolved in 1798.

• As indicated in the clip, ships were at this time using the 'Roaring Forties’ winds to navigate their crossing of the Indian Ocean. A major constraint on the expansion of the spice trade was the time taken by trading vessels to cross the Indian Ocean. In 1611, Dutch sea explorer Hendrik Brouwer (1580–1643) discovered that if, instead of sailing up the coast of Africa towards India and Indonesia, a ship sailed due east from the Cape of Good Hope before turning north to Indonesia, it could take advantage of the strong and consistent westerly winds known as the 'Roaring Forties’ that blow in latitudes of 40–50 degrees south from west to east.

• The perils of ocean voyages at that time are clearly illustrated, with sound effects being used extensively to create the mood of the voyage and impending disaster. Navigation was by no means an exact science in the 17th century and, once a ship had set a course due east from the Cape of Good Hope, judging when to change course to avoid Terra Australis (or New Holland as the western part of Australia was known) involved a certain amount of guesswork. The Abrolhos group alone consists of more than 120 islands, most of which were uncharted at the time. Other Dutch shipwrecks off the Australian coast include the Zuytdorp, Zeewijk and Vergulde Draeck.

• The clip tells the story of a ship engaged in the spice trade. In the Middle Ages, Arab traders brought spices such as ginger, mace, cloves and pepper into Europe. The trade was lucrative and by the 17th century, European trading companies such as the Dutch East India Company were building vessels to navigate the spice route.

• The Wreck of the Batavia, made in 1973, provides an example of the early work of director Bruce Beresford, one of Australia’s most well-known film directors. In the 1970s, Beresford explored aspects of Australian character and 'ockerism’ via The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972) and an adaptation of David Williamson’s play Don’s Party (1976). Beresford gained international recognition with his film Breaker Morant (1980).

Shots of 17th century maps and charts illustrate the final journey of the Batavia from Cape Town to its shipwreck on the Abrolhos Islands off the coast of Western Australia. Also visible is an actor representing the mutineer Cornelisz.
Narrator The Cape of Good Hope was the Batavia’s last port of call before Java. The course then lay due east for 3,000 miles to the threshold of the great southland, a vast and unknown continent ignored by all the European powers. Cornelisz – persuasive, insidious – plotted a mutiny. With the connivance of Captain Jacobs, the Batavia was manoeuvred away from the other ships. The plan was to seize the vessel and take up piracy, a more lucrative and exciting pastime than keeping accounts. With intrigue occupying many of the crew and passengers, and Commandant Pelsaert sick in his bunk, it is not surprising that discipline was lax. The ship was off-course as it approached the ill-omened Abrolhos Islands. According to the log, the lookout thought he saw moonlight on the water, when in fact it was the sea breaking over the reef.

Images of the moon, illustrations of a shipwreck, waves and a model boat are used in rapid succession to portray the shipwreck of the Batavia.
Narrator Pelsaert’s journal for Monday, June 4, reads:

I felt a rough, terrible movement and immediately afterwards, the ship held in her course against the rocks so that I fell out of my bunk. It became daylight, and we found ourselves amongst rock and shallows on all sides, and very suddenly it began to surf and foam around the ship so that we could not stand or walk.

There are shots of the coral reef and an aerial view of the island as it is today.
Narrator The Batavia had snagged herself on Morning Reef and driven a trench right into the coral platform. At low tide it was possible to jump on to the shallow reef from the bow of the ship. But as few people could swim in the 17th century, 40 drowned trying. 250 others managed to get off in small boats or stumble hesitantly ashore. They waded knee-deep across the treacherous brittle coral, tearing and lacerating their legs as it crumbled under their weight. Nearby were two small islets, and further away, a somewhat larger one. Used today by fishermen and marine archaeologists, this island was named Batavia’s Graveyard by the survivors.