Tag Archives: Houtman Abrolhos Islands

On 4 June 1629, the Dutch East Indies Company (VOC) ship Batavia slammed into a reef off the Western Australian coast stranding some 340 people far from any help.   But that was just the beginning of one of maritime history’s most appalling chapters.   Forty or so people died when the ship broke apart but aContinue reading “The Batavia Tragedy – 1629”