MEDIA STATEMENT
10 MAY 2003


FUTURE OF DUYFKEN

The text of the advertisement placed in The Weekend Australian on
Saturday reads as follows:

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST
AN OPPORTUNITY TO SECURE AUSTRALIA¼S FIRST SHIP

The Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation Inc. seeks expressions of interest from
communities, organisations and individuals interested in securing the
sustainable long-term future of the Foundation¼s vessel by hosting,
home-porting or taking over the operation of the vessel.
Duyfken was constructed to tell the story of the first European explorations
of the Australian continent and it is anticipated that expressions of
interest will address this objective as part of the submission.
Duyfken is the world¼s most authentic, most-travelled and most successful
"Age of Discovery¾ replica. Voyage include a re-enactment expedition to
Indonesia and Queensland, and a voyage from Sydney to The Netherlands as
part of the VOC (Dutch East India Company) celebrations in 2002.
Full background of the vessel can be found at www.duyfken.com and questions
should be addressed to the Duyfken Foundation (Australia) + 61 8 92256200.
Initial expressions of interest must be received in writing by close of
business on 31 May 2003 to:
Expressions of Interest
Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation
PO Box 1085
Fremantle WA 6959


For the Fremantle-based Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation, the call for
expressions of interest in the vessel marks end of an era of voyaging career
which began when the ship sailed from Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour on 8
April 2000 bound for the troubled province of Maluku in Indonesia.

Since then the "Little Dove¾ has sailed more than 65,000km across four
oceans, visited 10 countries in four continents and more than 300,000 people
have come aboard the ship and more than a million people have visited her.

2/.


Duyfken is now internationally acclaimed as a fine example of replica
shipbuilding. "Duyfken has set new standards in the construction and use of
replica vessels around the World. Duyfken is the only fully-seagoing Dutch
"Age of Discovery¾ vessel sailing in the world pre-dating Captain Cook¼s
ship Endeavour by almost 170 years.

The $4.2m 24-metre Duyfken is a full-size replica of the first recorded ship
to visit Australia - the Dutch trading ship Duyfken or "Little Dove¾ which
sailed from Banda to the Pennefather River in Queensland in 1606.

The Board of the Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation has prioritised the options
for the vessel:

1. For the ship to be home-ported at the Endeavour shed in Fremantle.
2. If this is not possible, then for the ship to be located and operated
somewhere else in Western Australia.
3. If a Western Australian bid does not emerge then for the ship to be
re-located to eslewhere in Australia or overseas.

Preference will be given to bids which include sailing operations and
develop a program to educate the public about the early European
explorations of the Australian continent (one of the objectives of the
Duyfken Foundation and the reason the ship was built).

On behalf of the Board of the Duyfken Foundation, former Duyfken Project
Director Graeme Cocks said that the charitable foundation which operated the
vessel was not prepared to incur additional debt to keep the vessel
operating, and it had been unable to interest the State or Federal
Governments in assisting with the project since the ship returned to
Australia from her Dutch exhibition tour.

The ship will be taken out of service immediately, the rig removed and the
hull tied up at Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour until a decision is made on
her future.

E N D S

Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation: Media Contact: Graeme Cocks 0438 980 859.