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“Western Australia has become an epicentre for maritime archaeology,” says Associate Professor Alistair Paterson, who heads a major international research project that sees UWA partnering with the WA Museum and international and national partners to unearth archaeological evidence that is the legacy of the wreck of the Batavia .

The grim scenario that was played out on Beacon Island four centuries ago following the shipwreck of the Dutch vessel Batavia has fascinated archaeologists, historians, film-makers, poets and novelists – along with countless visitors to the WA Maritime Museum’s Batavia Gallery.

Now UWA has teamed with the WA Museum and the University of Amsterdam to unlock a new chapter of the saga. The partners are applying 21st Century expertise and technology to unearth the remains of victims and to piece together the background of those who died on this arid island off an inhospitable stretch of WA’s coastline.

Shipwrecks of the Roaring Forties, a major research project spanning several years, is funded by the Australian Research Council. The project is led by UWA maritime archaeologist Associate Professor Alistair Paterson, whose expertise encompasses both historical archaeology and rock art research.

Few shipwreck stories are as dramatic as that of the Batavia . The Dutch East India Company vessel, on its maiden voyage for the charter company, was wrecked in June 1629 on a waterless island off the island continent that Dutch cartographers had labelled ‘New Holland’ and that others dubbed ‘the Great Southland’.

The vessel had been bound for Batavia, the Company’s far-flung outpost built on the spice trade with what is today’s Indonesian archipelago. However, mutineers had been plotting well before the Batavia came to grief, drowning some and marooning others on the Abrolhos Islands.

After many were transported to nearby islands, the commander and senior officers began a fruitless search for water in the ship’s longboat. Failing to find any, they eventually set out for Batavia to seek help. Few expected them to survive the epic voyage in the longboat and their departure unleashed a reign of terror mounted by the mutineers. However, a rescue vessel finally arrived and the culprits were strung up to die on gallows erected on neighbouring Seal (now Long) Island.

But the tale was far from over. A 20th Century chapter was added with the dramatic discovery of the wreck by divers, and the protracted and painstaking retrieval and restoration of relics ranging from cast-iron cannon to delicate drinking vessels.

During this chapter, UWA graduate Dr Ian Godfry of the WA Museum put his organic chemistry degree to good use, assessing the deterioration of the waterlogged timbers and formulating a conservation plan (UNIVIEW Spring 2012). Graduate Graeme Henderson discovered another Dutch wreck, the treasure-laden Vergulde Draeck , while spear fishing with friends as a teenager and went on to study history at UWA. He became the first Director of the WA Maritime Museum where the hull of Batavia and its relics are displayed and lobbied passionately for the protection of this State’s underwater heritage. The resulting WA legislation was a world first.

UWA graduate and forensic anthropologist Daniel Franklin then added to the 21st Century story. His Honours thesis involved the analysis of the skeletons unearthed on Beacon Island and the archaeological context of their burial – for even after 400 years bones reveal much about their life history and how they met their untimely demise (UNIVIEW Winter 2007).

Associate Professor Franklin has since joined UWA’s Centre for Forensic Science, and was one of the UWA scientists involved in recent finds of skeletons on Beacon Island. Many of the skeletons he has analysed to-date have been male, for the mutineers saw them as more of a challenge to their reign of terror, although women and children have also been discovered.

Shipwrecks of the Roaring Forties will run until 2017 and will possibly include a second trip to the graveyard island. The Museum’s team is led by Jeremy Green who arrived in WA in the early 1970s. The young Oxford graduate had been appointed to work on the Batavia site and he spearheaded the WA Museum team lobbying for protection of shipwreck sites that were magnets for treasure hunting divers.

An agreement between Australia and The Netherland has resulted in a collection rich in artefacts including bullion, building materials, navigational equipment, arms and armament, medical supplies, personal possessions and human remains. In 2011, the ANCODS collection was consolidated into one at the WA Museum. Jeremy Green is an Honorary Research Fellow in the School of Social Sciences at UWA.

The State Government appreciates the heritage value of Beacon and the island is now a site protected under the Maritime Archaeology Act 1973. It is also included on Australia’s National Heritage List. Initially most of the island’s archaeological finds were accidental, by fishermen who lived there during the rock lobster season, however with the last of the fishermen’s huts removed, the island has become an amazing laboratory for researchers – and for archaeologists getting field experience on a site stirring interest around the world.

On Beacon, local teams were joined by a forensic archaeologist Dr Liesbeth Smits from the University of Amsterdam. Researchers in The Netherlands remain very interested in Dutch wrecks in WA and have built a comprehensive database of information relating to those who sailed on the vessels, as well as accessing datasets of historical populations in Europe to learn more about the Batavia victims. For example, isotopes may indicate where these individuals grew up before leaving Europe and this will play a major role in identifying remains found on Beacon. Other researchers came from Flinders University, which also has a strong maritime archaeology program.

“Dutch historians are also translating new primary source material from Portugal, France and Holland relating to these wrecks – so new historical information is becoming available that will come into play with our research,” says A/Professor Alistair Paterson.

“This is the first time anyone has done a research program on Beacon based on an archaeological research plan rather than as a reaction to disturbed sites. It has proved hugely valuable – and exciting – for the large UWA team of geophysicists from engineering, forensic and maritime archaeologists and postdoctoral students. Our teams were able to use techniques like remote sensing to figure out the location of archaeological remains and this material – bones, musket balls, and Dutch earthenware – is now being analysed in laboratories at UWA.”

“We conducted excavations on Beacon and Long Islands where the culprits were hanged. Finding the rivets and fastenings from the gallows was a reminder that, in the 17th Century, it was customary to see the bodies of criminals strung up and left to die on the outskirts of major cities in Europe.”

A/Professor Paterson sees WA as one of the epicentres of maritime archaeology globally, with UWA and the WA Museum at its heart, training future archaeologists and researching important sites. Appointments that have bolstered UWA’s status in this area include that of Professor Peter Veth, who is the Lead Chief Investigator on the Australian Historic Shipwrecks Preservation Project (see ahspp.org.au) on which all maritime museums and heritage authorities from the States and Territories are represented. He also holds the Ian Potter Chair in Rock Art in the Centre for Rock Art Research and Management.

Says A/Professor Paterson: “Like me, Peter divides his time between maritime archaeology, land-based archaeology and rock art work, so we have these distinct strands of archaeology thriving at UWA and centred on sites that are recognised as great State assets.”

“With support from the Vice- Chancellor and philanthropy, we’ve built this University’s expertise and attracted a large number of postgraduate students nationally and internationally.”

“We’ve also attracted sizable ARC grants – archaeology tends to be expensive, so grants need to be big! We present a very good case for funding, and we’re grateful for the significant corporate support we’ve also secured.”

Additional appointments and courses – Professor Jo McDonald to the Rio Tinto Chair in Rock Art Studies, Professor Jane Lydon to the Wesfarmers Chair in Australian History and the new Master of Heritage Studies – have added to UWA’s strength in the study of Australia’s fascinating past. Archaeology and Heritage Studies graduates working as consultants, in mining corporations, the public service, museums and academia, reflect the University’s strong teaching and research credentials.

Photo: Associate Professor Daniel Franklin with one of the Beacon Island skulls (Photo: The West Australian)