The Part Borne by the Dutch in the Discovery of Australia 1606-1765 Part 20

October 1636.

The 6th do.

This day in the afternoon there arrived here from Amboyna the Yacht Cleyn Wesel, having on board the subcargo Pieter Pietersen, who...after the lamentable a.s.sa.s.sination of Commander Gerrit Thomasz Pool on the coast of Nova Guinea, had succeeded to the latter's office, and with the Yachts Cleen Amsterdam and Wesel had returned to Amboyna by way of Banda, reporting in substance as follows, both by word of mouth and by the journal kept during the voyage and the Resolutions duly registered, touching what happened in the course of the expedition, to wit...

On the 6th of June [they came to anchor] before the native village of Taranga at the south-western extremity of Arouw, in order...to provide themselves with certain necessaries...

On the 9th of June, being duly revictualled, he had set sail again from the said native village of Taranga, shaping his course to southward in order to endeavour to get to eastward by some means or other, so as to accomplish his ordained voyage; but when he had got to southward as far as the 11th degree of lat.i.tude, he had not only found and met with the east- and south-east-winds blowing constantly with great vehemence and hollow seas, but had also come upon a new land; in such fashion that, seeing no chance of getting to eastward for the accomplishment of his voyage, since such voyage will have to take place in the beginning of the western monsoon, he resolved with his council to give up further investigations to eastward, to explore and survey the situation of the newly discovered Van Diemensland, also called Arnhems or Speultsland, and, having gathered the required information, to run northward again for the purpose of obtaining perfect knowledge of the islands of Timor and Tenember; and all this having been duly effected, to return to Banda etc.

In conformity with this resolution the said Pieter Pietersen has surveyed the newly discovered land for the s.p.a.ce Of 20 miles from East to West; he has seen many fires and frequent clouds of smoke, but no natives, houses, prows or fruit-trees, although he has paddled close along the sh.o.r.e with an orangbay, and gone ash.o.r.e in sundry places, finding the land wild and barren; wherefore, not having been able to come to parley with any of the inhabitants, on the 20th of June, as previously resolved upon, he ran to the north from a certain Red point jutting out into the sea to northward, where the land falls off abruptly to the west, for the purpose of making the islands of Timor and Tenember...

{Page 68}

C.

_Journal of the voyage to Nova Guinea, 1636._

...In the early morning of Friday [June 6]...we arrived before the native village of Taranga...

On Monday the 9th do. At daybreak the wind was S.E...we set sail from Taranga...shaping our course to the S.S.W.

We could take no lat.i.tude at noon...

In the first watch we sailed S.S.W. the s.p.a.ce of about 3 gla.s.ses; the wind was S.E. with a fair breeze, and afterwards E.S.E.; we sailed to southward for the time of 12 gla.s.ses; at the beginning of the day-watch the wind was E.N.E. with a fresh breeze; we sailed S.E. for about eight gla.s.ses...

On Tuesday the 10th do. In the morning about breakfast-time the wind blew from the E.N.E. as before...

We estimated ourselves to have sailed 9 miles on a generally Southern course from last night to the present night.

On Wednesday the 11th do. Course held S.S.E...We had sailed on a Southern and S. by E. course about 11 miles by estimation during the last 24 hours...

On Thursday the 12th do. The wind E.S.E. as before...At noon we were in Lat. 10 2', so that I find we are farther to southward as would accord with our estimation and our courses kept, on which account I believe the current must have driven us a good deal to S.S.E.. In the afternoon the sky was overcast, the wind E.S.E. and S.E. by E. with a light breeze; we sailed to S. by W. with our mainsails set. Towards the evening the water became all of a sudden very smooth and of a pale colour; after sunset we cast the lead in 40 fathom good anchoring ground, fine sand, but could see no land: we took in our foresail and sailed in the night with the mainsail only to avoid press of sail. We estimated ourselves to have sailed about 12 miles on a general S.W. by S. course during the last 24 hours. In the night the wind was E. by S., E.S.E. and S.E. by E. with fine, lovely, clear weather and a top-gallant gale; throughout the night our average course was S., we cast the lead now and then in 42, 39, 38, 36 and 25 fathom good anchoring-ground.

On Friday the 13th do., the wind was nearly S.E., with a top-gallant gale and smooth water; course S.S.W. and S. by W.; the water was very pale in colour, but we could see no land; the weather was lovely and clear; at noon we found ourselves to be in 10 50' S.L.

Shortly after noon we cast the lead in 32 fathom good anchoring-ground; at four gla.s.ses in the afternoon we saw the land S.E. by S. of us, at about 6 miles' distance from us it was a low-lying coast with small hills; about 6 miles farther to westward we also saw land, not connected with the first land, but upwards of three miles distant from the same.

Towards the evening it fell a calm; at sunset there was a faint breeze from the S.S.E.; we made out the extremity of the land to be at about 3 miles' distance S.E. by S. of us; we were still in 32 fathom good anchoring-ground; we accordingly went over to eastward, but when shortly before the setting of the watch, the wind went down still more and began to turn to the N.W., we dropped anchor in 29 fathom good anchoring-ground.

{Page 69}

On Sat.u.r.day the 14th do. the current began to set to the S.E. in the morning, and the wind to blow hard from the E.S.E., so that we could not carry mainsails then; we weighed anchor and set sail on a South and South-by-east course. The water gradually shallowed, and seeing that we could not make the easternmost land, we ran to the westernmost, where we came to anchor at about a musket-shot's distance from the land in 10 fathom good anchoring-ground. Close along the sh.o.r.e the land is somewhat rock and reefy here; this land extends here about 3 miles S.E. by S. and N.W. by N., both slightly more to South and North. In the afternoon we sent out our small boat to take soundings close insh.o.r.e; on returning the men reported that until they came to the reefs they had found no less than 3 fathom good anchoring-ground. Off the point near which we lay at anchor, a river ran landinward; we hoisted the white flag, and caused the little boat to paddle close along the sh.o.r.e. We saw smoke, indeed, in many parts of the inland, but no natives, houses or vessels. This land is not high, chiefly level, thickly covered with trees, and with a sandy beach at the seaside. We had taken no lat.i.tude at noon; the tide seems to run from the N.W. here; in the night at the latter end of the first watch we could take the lat.i.tude by the stars and found it to be 12 8' South.

On Sunday the 15th do. at daybreak the wind blew hard from the E.S.E.; it was mainsail weather; we convened the Plenary Council and resolved with the same further to explore this land to the north-west and to use all possible diligence to get knowledge touching the island of Timor, as will be found more amply set forth in this day's Resolution.

As we were weighing our anchor, a lanyard and a pulley got broken; we shaped our course to N.W. by N. and N.N.W. Having sailed the s.p.a.ce of about 2 miles, we came to a point, between which point and another point, a distance of about 4 miles, the land extends W.N.W. and E.S.E. with hardly any curve, and with rocks and reefs along the sh.o.r.e. Off this point the surf and the breakers ran very strongly, as if there were a shoal there, seeing that the wind and the current were opposed to each other. We therefore sailed along the coast at less than a mile's distance from the same in 12, 11 and 10 fathom good anchoring-ground. In many places we saw great clouds of smoke landinward, but no fruit-trees, houses, vessels or natives; the land seems to be quite wild. Towards the evening we cast anchor in 9 fathom good anchoring-ground at about half a cannonshot's distance from the land; the aforesaid point was E. by N. of us at upwards of half a mile's distance; during the night we had violent squalls from the E.S.E. with a thick, foggy sky; landinward we observed a number of fires.

On Monday the 16th do. in the early morning the wind blew from the E.S.E.

as before with sudden violent squalls. As we were weighing our anchor, the lanyard-pulley broke, and shortly after our anchor-cable snapped off at about three fathom's distance from the anchor, so that we lost the latter. As we were setting our foresail, a musket-shot was fired from the Yacht Wesel, upon which we dropped our other anchor again; when towards the evening the weather had somewhat improved, we sent our orangbay to the Wesel, to learn the meaning of the musket-shot; when the men returned, they informed us that the Wesel had also lost an anchor, but that the buoyrope had remained entire, so that we remained here till the following day in order to recover the same.

On Tuesday the 17th do. towards noon we were informed that the buoy-rope of the Wesel had broken of its own accord close to the anchor, so that they had also lost their anchor, upon which forthwith weighing the anchors of both the Yachts, we found that the cables had also been damaged through rubbing against hidden stones and rocks.

{Page 70}

As beforementioned, the coast here extends W.S.W. for the s.p.a.ce of about 4 miles, with hardly any curve; at 3/8 of a mile's distance from the land there is already 8 and 7 fathom, good clayey bottom; the wind still blew from the S.E. and E.S.E. with a steady stiff gale; towards the evening we came to anchor in 7 fathom good anchoring-ground, at about half a mile's distance from the land, having the point E.S.E. of us at less than a mile's distance.

Up to now we have seen no men, vessels or houses; we should certainly have landed with the boats here and there, but that they were both of them stove in, and had first to be thoroughly overhauled before they could be used. During the night the weather was lovely and calm.

On Wednesday the 18th do., the wind blowing from the E.S.E., the weather was calmer, fairer and steadier than before. We gave a coat of tar to both our yachts, and remained at anchor the whole of this day, chiefly in order to see if we could not get sight of natives here or there and come to parley with the same, but we waited in vain for them. During the night the weather was bright, fair and clear, the wind blowing from the S.S.E., S.E., and E.S.E.

On Thursday the 19th do. at daybreak, the wind being E.S.E. with fair weather and a weak breeze, we weighed anchor and shaped our course to W.S.W., slightly more to westward. (The land here extends with a great curve and river as far as the Witte Hoeck [White point], known by the white sand-hill near the strand when you come from the east).

At 4 gla.s.ses after breakfast we came near a stony, rocky reef, which we kept outside or to seaward of in 8 and 9 fathom. The eastern extremity of it is less than a mile to the S.W., slightly more southerly, of the Witte Hoeck, and the western extremity upwards of mile to the S.W. by S., slightly more southerly, of the same; the reef extends S.E. by S. and N.W. by N.; it is not very long or broad, and there were violent breakers upon it.

When we had weathered the reef, we again ran W.S.W. at less than a mile's distance from the land, in 8, 9, 7 and 5 fathom good anchoring-ground.

From the Witte Hoeck the land trends nearly to W.S.W. with a slight curve, as far as one can see; close to the sea the beach is chiefly sandy, with small, low sand-hills here and there.

The whole day we saw a good deal of smoke landinward; at noon we were in exactly 11 S.L. From this Witte Hoeck the land trends to W.S.W., slightly westerly, with a slight curve for the s.p.a.ce of upwards of 3 miles; from there to W.N.W. with a strong curve the s.p.a.ce of upwards of two miles, as far as a point, off which point, at less than half a mile's distance to N.E. by E., there is a small island on all sides surrounded by shoals and reefs; beyond this island the land falls off to the S.W., making a curve of 2 miles at least but afterwards it trends to the N.W.

again. This island bears from the land about N.W. and S.E.; the beach is sandy with reefs here, and there.

At sunset it fell a calm, and we came to anchor in 8 fathom good anchoring-ground at about a mile's distance from the land, having the island S.S.E. of us at upwards of a mile's distance. Shortly after we saw two fires on the beach beyond the island. We estimated ourselves to have sailed about 8 miles this day; during the night the wind blew from the S.

and S.S.W. with lovely weather. We found little or no current running here.

{Page 71}

On Friday the 20th do. we set sail at daybreak with a weak breeze from the S.; we kept mainly at a mile's distance from the land in 7 and 7 fathom good anchoring-ground. In the course of the day the wind went over to N.E., after which we ran N.W.; at noon we got near the Roode Hoeck [red point], situated N.W. of the island aforesaid at about 5 miles'

distance; upwards of half a mile's distance from here the land falls off to W. by W.; from this point a large reef was seen running out to sea the length of upwards of 1 mile, which reef being unable to weather because we sailed so close to the wind, we came to anchor in 7 fathom good anchoring-ground, at half a mile's distance from the land; the Roode Hoeck was S.W. and S.W. by S. of us at upwards of half a mile's distance; we saw smoke rising in various places.

On Sat.u.r.day the 21st do. we set sail with a S.S.E. and S.E. by S. wind, a weak breeze and lovely weather. Here, from the point, the land extended to S. by W. and S.S.W. as far as one could see, with a slight curve only.

The reef above referred to runs out to sea in a northward direction from the Roode Hoeck upwards of two miles, and from there very far to westward, upwards of 1 mile from the land. It consists of sandy shoals, having a small hill or rock above water; alongside it the depth was 7, 6, 5 and 4 fathom, uneven bottom. And since the wind blew from the S.E. by S. as before, so that we could not make the land again, we resolved to run N.E. We accordingly shaped our course to the N.N.E. for the purpose of touching at Timor with the help of Almighty G.o.d, and take surveyings of the same.

In or near this land, which in our chart [*] we have named Van Diemensland, we have seen no men, houses, fruit-trees or prows, although we ventured to inspect it paddling with our orangbay close along the sh.o.r.e; the boats of both the yachts being unfit for use, stove in, and under repair. About 2 gla.s.ses after noon, the wind was N.E., N.N.E., and N.E. by N. with calm and steady weather. At sunset we estimated ourselves to have the Roode Hoeck S.S.E. of us at 6 miles' distance; during the night there was a weak breeze from the E.S.E., N.E. by E. and also N.E.; course held N.N.W., N. by W. and also N., with bright, lovely and clear weather.

[* This chart is wanting.]

On Sunday the 22nd do. in the morning the wind was E.S.E. with a lovely breeze and top-gallant weather; course held N.E. At noon we took the lat.i.tude and found it to be 10 10' South...[*]

[* The further progress of the voyage has no interest connected with our present subject.]

{Page 72}

XXVI.