Vergulde Draeck 1656
Marker: recorded wreck position (Age of Sail).
Key facts
| Name | Vergulde Draeck | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Year lost | 1656 | English Wikipedia lead text (year following a loss verb, parsed) |
| Era | Age of Sail | derived from year |
| Ship type | sailing ship | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Nationality / flag | Kingdom of the Netherlands, Australia | Wikidata P8047 country of registry |
| Sea / ocean | Geographe Bay | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | Australia | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 13 km from land |
| Position | -31.2214, 115.3590 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
Vergulde Draeck (pronounced [vɛrˈɣʏldə ˈdraːk]), also spelled Vergulde Draak and Vergulde Draek (meaning Gilt Dragon), was a 38.78-metre (127.2 ft), 260 ton jacht ('yacht') bought in 1653 by the Dutch East India Company (Dutch: Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie, commonly abbreviated to VOC). The ship was lost off the coast of Western Australia in 1656, with a minority of her crew reaching shore, and only seven subsequently reaching civilization.
The wreck was the first example of a VOC ship to be discovered off the coast of Australia. Archaeological investigations were started in 1972, with further work being done in 1981 and 1983. Though there is very little assembled hull structure remaining, what has been studied suggests that there was only one skin of structural hull planking, unlike the larger Indiamen, which usually had two layers. The sacrificial external layer of pine planking (a protection from teredo worm) shows marks from the wind-powered sawmill which cut them, providing evidence of the industrialisation of ship-building in the Netherlands.
Diving & visiting
The wreck of Vergulde Draeck was eventually discovered on 14 April 1963 south of Ledge Point, about 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of Perth.
The identity of the official discoverers of Vergulde Draeck has been a contentious issue over many years, though it is generally accepted that the wreck was found by John Cowen; Jim, Alan and Graeme Henderson; and Alan Robinson. An alternative claim was made by Robinson in his In Australia Treasure is not for the Finder.
Location
- Recorded position: -31.2214, 115.3590 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: Geographe Bay
- Nearest coast: Australia
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Vergulde Draeck (revision 1366039375), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Discovery of Vergulde Draeck”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
- Alkimos 1963 · 52 km
- Centaur 1874 · 79 km
- City of York 87 km
- Lady Elizabeth 90 km
- Rockingham 1830 · 94 km
- SS Wyola 103 km
Browse more: Oceania wrecks · wrecks off Australia · Geographe Bay · Age of Sail