Duyfken replica
An authentic reproduction of the first European ship to reach Australia
An authentic reproduction of the first European ship to reach Australia
An authentic reproduction of the first European ship to reach Australia
The Duyfken, a ship owned by the Dutch East India Company, entered the pages of Australian history in 1606 by becoming the first European vessel to make a recorded landing on Australia’s coastline.
Nearly 400 years after the Duyfken’s historical voyage, a replica was built as a compelling educational tool to raise awareness of Dutch exploration of Australia in the 1600s.
Learn all about this authentic replica sailing ship, including its ambitious voyages »
After the Duyfken’s captain, Willem Janszoon, mapped the west coast of Cape York Peninsula in 1606, a number of other Dutch navigators went on to charter most of Australia’s shoreline by 1644. Other navigators included Dirk Hartog, Frederik De Houtman, Franchois Thijssen, Jacob d’Edel, Willem Colster, Abel Tasman and Franchoijs Visscher.
Read how Dutch navigators mapped most of Australia’s coast by 1644 »