VOC ship Zuytdorp (1712): The story of three hundred year old ship remains

Public Lecture | Updated 1 decade ago

Image copyright of WA Museum
Working on a statue of the Zuytdorp
Photo by Pat Baker

Wendy van Duivenvoorde, Maritime Archaeology, Flinders University
Marta Domínguez Delmás, RING: Netherlands Laboratory for Dendrochronology

The Dutch East India Company ship Zuytdorp (1712) wrecked at the base of the steep cliffs, situated north of the mouth of the Murchison River and the modern-day town of Kalbarri, Western Australia. The dynamic and fierce surf zone surrounding the shipwreck site provided a difficult environment for the ship’s preservation. Nevertheless, some material from the ship itself did survive, such as an extraordinary example of a caryatid herm from the ship’s stern, fragments of its masts and spars, and negligible remains of the ship’s hull.

A recent study of the Zuytdorp shipwreck remains has brought to light some interesting and important information on the appearance and construction of the ship itself. This evidence will eventually broaden our understanding on Dutch shipbuilding practices on the Zeeland shipyard in the 17th and 18th century.

Wendy van Duivenvoorde worked for six years at the Department of Maritime Archaeology of the WA Museum before taking up a position as a lecturer in maritime archaeology at Flinders University. She has worked extensively with Western Australia’s Dutch East India Company shipwreck collection and conducted studies in 17th and 18th century shipbuilding. For her Batavia shipwreck research alone, Dr van Duivenvoorde was awarded 15 grants and fellowships.

Marta Domínguez Delmás is a dendrochronologist at the Ring Foundation, the Netherlands Centre for Dendrochronology. She mainly works on dendrochronological research (dating and provenancing) on wood from archaeological excavations maritime and terrestrial), buildings, furniture, and pieces of art. She specializes on non-destructive dendrochronological research on furniture and pieces of art and manages RING laboratory. In the past five years, she has conducted dendrochronological research, i.e. identified wood species, dated, and provenanced timber samples, from Western Australian shipwreck material.
 
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