The Cruise of the Duyfken

The Cruise of the Duyfken

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Posted 2016-08-01 by Douglas Sutherland-Brucefollow

Thu 18 Aug 2016

2016 marks the 400th Anniversary of the landing of Dirk Hartog on the coast of Western Australia. To commemorate this momentous event the replica sailing ship Duyfken will set sail on August 18 from the port of Fremantle to begin the Duyfken 2016 Dirk Hartog Commemorative Voyage and Exhibition program .



Initiated by the State Government of Western Australia, this celebration is to acknowledge the beginnings of European engagement here on the west coast of Australia, marked by Hartog leaving a message of his visit on an inscribed plate that was nailed to a post and jammed in a rock crevice on the most northern point of the island we now know as Dirk Hartog Island.



Engaging the Duyfken replica in this anniversary program provides a tangible connection to the early 1600s. As an authentic replica of her original namesake that was built around 1595, Duyfken gives a real insight into the way ships of this period were constructed. Built in Fremantle and launched in 1999 at a cost of $3.7 million, Duyfken has given more than a million visitors a taste of what life was like for the seafarers of the early 17th century.



Travelling the world, the Duyfken replica has shared the story of Captain Willem Janzoon and the crew of the original Duyfken who became the first Europeans to set foot on Australian soil in 1606, on the western shores of the Cape York Peninsula (some ten years prior to Hartog's arrival aboard the Eendracht in 1616) and who for the first time recorded contact between Aboriginal Australians and people from the outside world during Duyfken 1606 voyage of discovery.

Indeed, the indigenous people of Cape York still talk about the Duyfken landing in their oral history. For the crew of the original Duyfken, theirs was a voyage beyond the known world at the time.



The current voyage may not be quite as challenging as those of 400 years ago, but this voyage is just as important in its role to raise awareness of the first recorded European visitors to Australia's shores.

To support the anniversary program Duyfken will undertake a four month voyage and exhibition program that culminates in her arrival for the Hartog Festival in Denham, Shark Bay on October 19.



Included in Duyfken voyage program are Bunbury, Mandurah, Hillarys, Jurien Bay, Dongara, Geraldton and Denham. At each of these ports Duyfken will go on public exhibition. Already more than 3,500 school children are booked in for educational tours of the ship.



Members of the general public will be able to go aboard and discover the challenges experienced by the 'Dutchies' in their quest to grow the incredibly valuable spice trade from the East Indies.

Tickets are available from Ticketek's website here at $12.74 for those 17 years and over and $5.10 for five to 16 year-olds. There are also 'pirate' days at many of the ports where families are encouraged to dress up.

At Cape Inscription on Dirk Hartog Island an official ceremony and plaque unveiling is planned for Tuesday October 25, 400 years to the day from when Hartog landed. Premier Colin Barnett is expected to attend the ceremony and it's anticipated a flotilla of boats, including STS Leeuwin and Young Endeavour will join Duyfken in the bay below Cape Inscription.

In preparing Duyfken for this major voyage and community engagement program, Lotterywest has provided significant funding to support the first major refurbishment of Duyfken since her launch in 1999.

Duyfken's official departure will be from the Sardine Wharf, Mews Rd, Fremantle at 10am on Thursday August 18, with the ceremony starting at 9am. The Hon. Bill Marmion will be representing the State Government, and the event will be attended by the Ambassador from the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Anyone who would like to see the Duyfken off on its historic voyage is encouraged to attend the ceremony and departure – and to book tickets to go on board.

#boating
#community_events
#day_trips
#fremantle
#greater_fremantle
#history
#tours
#august
!date 18/08/2016 -- 18/08/2016
%wnperth
185870 - 2023-06-16 02:41:31

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