Duyfken facts for kids
The 1999 replica of Duyfken in 2006
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| History | |
|---|---|
 Dutch Republic |
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| Name | Duyfken |
| Launched | 1595 |
| Fate | Condemned beyond repair July 1608 at Ternate |
| General characteristics | |
| Displacement | 110 tons |
| Length | 65.4 ft (19.9 m) |
| Beam | 19.7 ft (6.0 m) |
| Draft | 8 ft (2.4 m) |
| Propulsion | Sail |
| Speed | 7 knots (13 km/h; 8.1 mph) |
| Armament | 8 cannons |
Duyfken (which means "Little Dove") was a small but important ship built in the Dutch Republic. She was a fast ship, probably used for exploring shallow waters, carrying small valuable goods, or delivering messages.
In 1606, during a journey led by Captain Willem Janszoon, Duyfken reached the Australian mainland. Janszoon is known for being the first European to officially land in Australia. The ship was badly damaged in 1608 and could not be repaired.
Years later, a copy of Duyfken was built in Australia. This new ship was launched in 1999.
The Ship Duyfken's Journeys
Early Expeditions
In 1595, a ship called Duyfken sailed on the first trip to Bantam. After returning in August 1597, this ship was renamed Overijsel. It then sailed on more trips to the East Indies.
On April 23, 1601, another ship named Duyfken left Texel. It acted as a scout ship under Captain Willem Cornelisz Schouten. It sailed to the Spice Islands.
After reaching Bantam, Duyfken and four other Dutch ships met a large fleet of Portuguese ships. They fought in the Battle of Bantam. The Dutch ships pushed the Portuguese away on New Year's Day 1602. This battle helped end the control of the Portuguese and Spanish over the spice trade to Europe.
The Dutch fleet was welcomed in Bantam. They repaired their ships and explored Jakarta Bay. The Dutch later built their capital, Batavia, there. Duyfken then sailed to the Spice Island of Ternate to load cloves. After that, it went to Banda for nutmeg.
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Duyfken was then sent on an exploration trip to the east. This was because the new Dutch East India Company (VOC) had a special right to trade with the Spice Islands. On its way back from the Indies, Duyfken got separated from bigger ships in a storm. It reached Flushing in April 1603, two months before the other ships.
On December 18, 1603, Duyfken began a second trip to the Indies. Willem Janszoon was its captain. The Dutch fleet captured a Portuguese ship. They sailed to the Spice Islands, arriving in Bantam on New Year's Eve 1604.
In 1605, Duyfken helped take back a fort on Ambon from the Portuguese. It was then sent to Bantam for important supplies.
Discovering Australia
In 1605, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) sent Duyfken on a special mission. Captain Willem Janszoon was told to look for new trade places in the "south and east lands." These were lands beyond what Europeans knew at the time.
Janszoon sailed Duyfken southeast from Banda. They went past the Kei Islands and along the south coast of New Guinea. They then continued east-southeast.
In early 1606, Janszoon and his crew found and mapped parts of Australia's Cape York Peninsula. The ship landed at the Pennefather River in the Gulf of Carpentaria. This was the first confirmed time Europeans saw Australia. It was also the first confirmed time Europeans landed on Australian soil. Because of this, Europeans now knew about all the inhabited continents of the world. After this discovery, the ship sailed back to Bantam.
In 1607, Duyfken might have made another trip east to Australia. Later that year, it went to Java for supplies for a Dutch fort. In early 1608, Duyfken was involved in chasing Chinese ships north of Ternate.
In May 1608, the ship fought a five-hour battle with three Spanish ships. In June, it helped bigger ships capture a fort on Makian Island. A month later, Duyfken was brought to Ternate for repairs. It seems that trying to fix the bottom of the ship caused more damage. The ship was then declared too damaged to be repaired.
The Duyfken Replica
The idea for building a copy of Duyfken came from Michael John Young, a historian. He worked hard to make the replica project happen.
The Duyfken Replica committee was started in 1995. This led to the Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation. Michael G. Kailis helped raise the money needed to build the ship.
On March 27, 1997, Dutch Crown Prince William-Alexander helped lay the keel of the Duyfken replica. This happened at the shipyard in front of the Fremantle Maritime Museum in Western Australia.
A full-size copy of Duyfken was built by the "Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation." It worked with the Maritime Museum of Western Australia. The replica was launched on January 24, 1999, in Fremantle.
The replica then sailed to Banda in Indonesia. It also sailed on a trip to the Pennefather River in Queensland, just like the original ship. To celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Dutch East India Company, the ship sailed from Sydney to many places. These included Queensland, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, South Africa, Namibia, and finally Texel in the Netherlands. The ship then had a six-month exhibition tour in the Netherlands.
For a time in 2005, Duyfken was docked by the Old Swan Brewery in Perth, Western Australia. People could visit the replica there.
In 2006, Western Australia celebrated the 400th anniversary of the original Duyfkens visit to Australia. A group called Australia on the Map: 1606–2006 was formed. It honored Duyfken's arrival and all who helped map the Australian coast.
Duyfken was at the Queensland Maritime Museum in Brisbane until 2011. Then it moved to the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney. In 2012, it returned to Fremantle.
In November 2020, the Foundation announced that Duyfken would go back to the Australian National Maritime Museum. Due to travel rules, the crew could not sail the ship from Fremantle. So, it was moved on a larger vessel to Newcastle. From there, it sailed to Sydney, arriving on December 22, 2020.
