Dirk Hartog Island

Parent Place or Precinct

12412 Shark Bay Area

Child Places

• 11928 Dirk Hartog Island Station
• 19831 Sandy Point Compound, Dirk Hartog Island
• 03261 Cape Inscription Lighthouse & Quarters

Values

Dirk Hartog Island represents an incredibly rich cultural landscape comprising archaeological sites, places, and extant features dating to a number of significant events and phases in the State’s history including the occupation of offshore islands by Indigenous Australians, the site of the earliest landfall by a European in Australia, visitation by other various Dutch, French and English explorers, whaling, guano mining, military outposts, pearling (including Chinese), Aboriginal and Malay labour, and pastoralism.

The early exploration and landing sites, although most no longer contain the primary physical evidence for these events, still provide a significant link to this early interest in the Australian continent by other European nations.

The place holds a high degree of social value to the Western Australian community for its status as the first landfall of Europeans in Australia, as well as its inclusion in the World Heritage listing for the Shark Bay Area.

Physical Description

Dirk Hartog Island, the westernmost part of WA, is a large island (70,000 ha) enclosing the western side of Shark Bay, approximately 40 km west of Denham. Dirk Hartog Island forms the western boundary of Shark Bay from which it is separated by a narrow channel. High cliffs line the western side of the island with lower cliffs and many sandy bays on the eastern side. The vegetation is low and scrubby and there are no open fresh water sources. Although it appears the Aboriginal midden sites on the island are undated, it is likely these were occupied by at least the Holocene (10,000 Before Present - BP). The island is recognised both for its status as the landing site of the first European in Australia, and for its diverse flora and fauna. The Register of the National Estate entry notes that is it of biogeographic interest being an intermediate zone between the ‘south-west and Eremaen botanical provinces. The island also retains a number of features with varying degrees of cultural heritage significance including: P3261 Cape Inscription Lighthouse & Quarters (c.1910); P11928 Dirk Hartog Island Station; the De Saint Aloüarn Site; Persévérant Survivors’ Camp (and wreck site); Notch Point Pearling Camp; Quoin Bluff Military Encampment; Sammy Well; Von Bibra Hut; West Point Aboriginal Midden. Finally, the island is part of the World Heritage Listing for P12412 Shark Bay Area.

History

The first recorded landing of a European in Australia is that of the Dutchman, Dirk Hartog at Cape Inscription, the northern tip of what come to be known as Dirk Hartog Island, in 1616. Hartog (1580-1621), born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, by 1615 had voyaged to various European ports and when his ship, the Eendracht, left the Cape of Good Hope on 27 August 1616, he followed the newly adopted 'Brouwer' route, ‘which directed V.O.C. ships to sail east across the Indian Ocean for 1000 Dutch miles (c.7400 km), before heading north to the Sunda Strait’. Following this route, it was inevitable that a V.O.C. navigator would eventually come upon the west coast of Australia and Hartog was the first to do so. ‘On 25 October 1616 members of the Eendracht's crew landed at the north end of what is now known as Cape Inscription. They left a record of their visit inscribed on a flattened pewter plate, nailed to an oak post and placed upright in a fissure on the cliff top.’

‘The Eendracht plate remained where it had been placed until 2 February 1697, when Willem de Vlamingh's expedition found it lying beside a decayed post. Vlamingh replaced it with another flattened pewter plate, inscribed with a copy of the text on the old plate and a record of his own visit, and nailed it to a new post. He took the Eendracht plate to Batavia (Jakarta); from there it was transferred to the V.O. C's archives in the Netherlands and later to the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. It is the oldest known record of a landing by Europeans in Australia’.

‘Hartog's discovery had a major impact on world cartography [as, following this,] the mythical continent known as Terra Australis Incognita (the Unknown South Land) was replaced on maps by a major landmass called 't Landt van de Eendracht (the Land of the Eendracht). Later discoveries extended charts of its coastline and the continent was later renamed Hollandia Nova (New Holland) by the Dutch, and Australia by the British.’

Over the next 300 years a series of Dutch, French and English explorers were to visit the island, including Vlamingh in 1697, William Dampier in 1699, the Baudin Expedition in 1801 and Freycinet in 1818. Despite a number of colonial expeditions visiting Shark Bay, the area was deemed unsuitable for permanent settlement due to the barren nature of the land and the lack of reliable water sources. Greater interest in the resources of the smaller islands adjacent to Dirk Hartog resulted in a small military garrison being established at Quoin Head on Dirk Hartog Island (1850) in an attempt to regulate the trade in guano mining established on the neighbouring islands.

By the 1860s guano mining had given way to pearl shell harvesting, and pearling camp leases were taken out on Dirk Hartog Island. It was also around this time that there was an expansion of pastoral settlement into the Shark Bay region, despite the poor quality of the land. In 1864, the first sheep stations in the area were established with Frances Von Bibra taking up the lease of Dirk Hartog Island. Several years later, this lease passed to J.H. Monger and, after a number of different lease holders, Sir Thomas Wardle, a successful businessman and Lord Mayor of Perth at the time, purchased the island. Wardle argued that the island should be maintained by the government as a nature reserve. He suggestion was declined and so, Wardle bought the island for his own use as a private retreat for his family, substantially de-stocking the large sheep flock over several years.

The Western Australian State Government has now (2010-11) purchased the island, with the exception of the Wardle pastoral homestead, to create the Dirk Hartog Island National Park. DEC plans to reintroduce some of the island's rare mammals to the area.

P3261 Cape Inscription Lighthouse & Quarters [including Dirk Hartog Landing Site (1616) and Turtle Bay Maritime Infrastructure (c.1910-1917)]

Dirk Hartog Landing Site (1616)

Location where Dirk Hartog landed and erected an inscribed pewter plate (now removed). The first recorded landing of a European in Australia.

Cape Inscription Lighthouse & Quarters (c.1907/10)

The place comprises the concrete remains of the Lighthouse Keepers’ Quarters and associated outbuildings, an underground water tank, water reticulation system, abandoned helipad, remnant pathways, stables, the Cape Inscription Lighthouse, Inscription Post, as well as the trawmway site that extends to Turtle Bay. Only the lighthouse had been maintained with some of the other structures in ruins. However, the quarters were subject to conservation works in 2010. The lighthouse at Cape Inscription has provided a navigational aid to shipping from the time of its construction in 1910 and, as such, has contributed to the safety of sea transportation from that time; the remaining evidence of the lightstation’s supporting quarters, fences, stables, water supply, sewerage treatment and the like make up a substantial body of fabric for interpretation. The whole composition of structures in the landscape forms a significant cultural environment.

The de Saint Aloüarn Site (1772) – Turtle Bay

This site is the location where, in March 1772, the French claimed possession of ‘the land “au NO ¼ N du vaisseaux” (to the NW ¼ N [bearing c.325° magnetic] of the ship).’ This allegedly took place on the northern cliff of Dirk Hartog Island. A bottle, containing the statement read to commemorate the occasion, was buried at the base of a small tree and two French coins were reportedly placed nearby. In addition that same evening the crew returned to Dirk Hartog to bury a crew member who had died that day, and they spent the night on the island. To date at least one bottle and two coins with lead closures have been found at a site on the ridge overlooking Turtle Bay. However, due to continued disturbance of the site over time the associations of these items with the French annexation event are somewhat unclear.

Persévérant Survivors’ Camp and wreck site (1841) Cape Levillain

‘The French whaler Perseverant [constructed 1837] was driven ashore during a gale on 16 March 1841. The crew were stranded on Dirk Hartog island for ten weeks and five men died of scurvy during that time. The remaining crew were becoming desperate and set off in four small boats from the wrecked ship. Only one of these boats was eventually rescued. There is no clear evidence that these survivors had contact with Aboriginal people while on the island. However, early reports of a wreck at this time were received in Perth via information circulating from northern Aboriginal tribes. The Perth Gazette was scathing about these reports, suggesting they were fabrications’. The archaeological remains of the survivor’s camp on Dirk Hartog Island are believed to be extant.

Quoin Bluff Military Encampment (1850-1851) – [Irwin Station]

The presence of rich guano deposits in the Houtman Abrolhos led other colonists to search additional offshore islands for this valuable natural fertiliser needed to improve the less than fertile soils of the area settled early on for agricultural purposes. In 1850, in an attempt to protect their interests (guano and other resources such as pearl shell and sandalwood) in the Shark Bay area from foreign vessels, the government stationed a military garrison at Quoin Bluff on Dirk Hartog Island. Although short-lived (9 months), the archaeological remains of the encampment have been identified and comprise at least two ruinous structures, archaeological deposits, as well as the remains of a stone jetty.

Sites Associated with Pastoralism

Pastoralism on Dirk Hartog Island has a long history with a number of different phases of occupation commencing in approximately 1863. The original homestead (c.1870) may still exist as an archaeological site but its specific location remains unclear. A report from a wrecked vessel in 1874 describes the homestead as being 25 miles (40 kms) south of Turtle Bay on the coast (placing it approximately 5km north of Quoin Bluff in Herald Bay), while it has been established that a small hut once believed to be associated with the original station was another small outcamp or other residence dating to this early period. The current Dirk Hartog Island Station buildings (c.1890s?) are situated just southeast of Notch Point and are in use as a tourist resort, while a number of small outcamps are scattered across the island.

‘Dirk Hartog Island was the first coastal sheep station in Shark Bay, dating to the mid 1860s when Francis Louis (Franz Ludwig) Von Bibra (1818-1900) arrived’. In 1867 Von Bibra was granted rights to harvest guano from the islands in Shark Bay and was granted a lease on Dirk Hartog Island in 1868 though it is unclear whether he ever occupied the place prior to c.1873. Von Bibra appears to also have had interests in pearling, whaling, sandalwood, and introduced sheep to the island. In 1875 Von Bibra purchased Burswood Island on the Swan River and, although he moved his family there shortly after, Von Bibra maintained his interests in the Shark Bay region. Brown and Monger took over leases on Dirk Hartog Island until in 1888 Brown took sole control. Ownership changed regularly during the early twentieth-century until Price built up a large flock of sheep in the late 1950s to late 1960s. In 1968, the Western Australian Government decided to sell Dirk Hartog Island, which had been operating under a pastoral lease for sheep and wool production. Sir Thomas Wardle, a successful businessman and Lord Mayor of Perth at the time, argued that the island should be maintained by the government as a nature reserve. He suggestion was declined, so Wardle bought the island for his own use as a private retreat for his family, substantially de-stocking the large sheep flock over several years. The pastoral industry ceased operations on Dirk Hartog Island in 2008, but the Wardle family continue to occupy the Dirk Hartog Island Station (2011).

P11928 Dirk Hartog Island Station (mid 1860s-present)

The Dirk Hartog Island Station comprises the homestead, which is the stone and corrugated iron former shearers’ quarters converted into a homestead when the original (unknown date though not believed to date to the c.1870 period) homestead burnt down; a timber framed corrugated iron shearing shed; a timber framed corrugated iron saddle room; a timber framed corrugated iron workshop and mill room; a timber framed corrugated iron storehouse and power station; and a well (west well) with two windmills and water tank. The place is currently (2011) operating as an eco-tourism venture and is still managed by a member of the Wardle family.

The Herald Bay Outcamp (c.1870-1880)

Situated approximately 4km inland (west) of Herald Bay this is a well stone ruin comprising two rooms and a water storage facility. The structure was domestic in scale and artefact scatters indicated its period of occupation was c.1870-1880.

P19831 Sandy Point Compound, Dirk Hartog Island (c.1890 -1910, 1968)

Sandy Point outcamp was established before c.1890. The original tent style accommodation was replaced with a corrugated iron building, which comprised an extended room with a lean to verandah. This was modified c.1910 using timber and corrugated iron to become three rooms including a kitchen, and was occupied by Indigenous stockmen. In 1955 Wapet drilled exploratory holes for oil on the Island, with the first well drilled at Sandy Point. In 1968 Sir Thomas Wardle constructed the shearing shed and an eight room shearers quarters with a bathroom was also erected at this time. Wardle often conducted the shearing at Sandy Point, walking the sheep from trap yards 4kms west of the compound down the fence line to Sandy Point. The Sandy Point Compound comprises three separate buildings; the original Camp Quarters (c1890-1910) comprise an extended room with a lean to verandah, which was erected c.1890s and modified c.1910 using timber and corrugated iron to become three rooms including a kitchen; a large Shearing Shed (1968) constructed of corrugated iron; and an eight room Shearers quarters, also constructed of corrugated iron. On the lower side of the compound are over 10 separate wells, each of which is approximately 12-14 feet in diameter and lined with old iron square boxes.

Notch Point Pearling Camp (c.1870-1886; c.1890-1930s)

Documentary evidence suggests pearl shell was being harvested, albeit in a limited fashion, in the Shark Bay region by 1851. The industry developed slowly, but by the 1870s some interest developed and over a hundred ‘Malays’ (a generic term often used for people from southern China and southeast Asia) were brought to the region, under servile conditions. Aboriginal labour had been used prior to this but as their numbers dwindled other sources were found. Much of the pearling industry in the area was concentrated on the eastern shores of Useless Harbour but water was apparently brought across from Dirk Hartog Island. Due to the poor treatment of the Malay workers, particularly their being held against their will, clashes occurred and Broadhurst, who was responsible for much of the transportation, was ordered to auction his possessions to pay the labourers’ wages and after 1874 the use of Malay labour virtually ceased, though some of the men stayed on in the area.

Notch Point, Dirk Hartog Island, has archaeological evidence for at least two nineteenth century pearlers’ camps with a notable difference between the European and ‘Malay’ ceramics, and a later twentieth century camp. There is also evidence for the presence of Aboriginal labour with at least one flaked glass bottle recorded at the site. In addition there were Chinese pearling vessels working this coastline and Chinese are recorded at Dirk Hartog Island in 1885. Racism in the industry was rife and conflict between Chinese and European pearlers was common with attempts to restrict Chinese pearling activities. The conflict came to a head when negotiations failed and an armed police party were sent to the Chinese camp at Notch Point. Though ending peacefully with the Chinese pearlers leaving the area, the event, and the enacting of Chinese Immigration Act in 1897, led to their numbers dwindling by 1900. Another pearling camp at the site is believed to date to the early twentieth century, and possibly the reworking of pearl beds post WWII and during the Great Depression.

Sammy Well

At the northeast end of the island, this site is located behind the fore dune a few hundred metres south of the Persévérant Survivors’ Camp. The place has a number of historic links, including it having been a station ‘outcamp’, a landing place for vessels, and the scene of one of Shark Bay’s colourful legends. It is suggested that, after being informed by local Aboriginal people that a lens of fresh water existed at the site attempts were made to improve access by burying drums and other makeshift tanks in the sand which would then fill with a supply of drinking water, apparently a common practice in the area referred to as ‘beach wells’. The water could then be pumped to tanks on higher ground and evidence for this exists on site in the form of a collapsed windmill, a wood-lined soak, and a large water tank. Some indications are that Sammy Well was established as early as 1907 when the lighthouse was being constructed. After the lighthouse was completed the well was possibly less used but some infrastructure remained at the outcamp site as late as 1987, including the remains of a water tank and a Nissen Hut. The status of the place in Shark Bay legend is in its association with ‘Sammy Malay’ or ‘Sammy Hassan’, apparently a descendent of approximately 140 Malay men brought to the Shark Bay coast by Broadhurst and Cadell aboard the Xantho in 1870s. The legend of Sammy suggests that he met his demise while fishing off the beach when a shark took his leg and, although he made it back to the ‘outcamp’, died shortly thereafter (c.1917/20) and the place became known as Sammy’s Well though the story, and a number of variations, appears to be largely anecdotal.

West Point Aboriginal Midden

This is a large midden site between fore and secondary dunes at West Point (approximately 0.5km SE of Hawknest Well). The site is approximately 150m long by 50m wide and observations in 2006 noted several thousand shells with the primary types being Limpet and Turban shells. The shells were of a similar size and suggest economic exploitation of nearby reef platforms. Cores and flaked stone, comprising locally available raw materials, were also visible throughout the site.

Persévérant Camp, Fireplace

During the survey of the survivors’ camp discussed above isolated copper artefacts were noted in the adjacent dune. Thought to be associated with this site, two small test pits were excavated by the WA Museum (2006), which uncovered a number of stone tools and evidence for a fireplace. It was concluded that the site was an Aboriginal midden.

The island is also part of the World Heritage Listing for:

P12412 Shark Bay Area

The World Heritage Listing for Shark Bay, Western Australia (Inscribed 1991) states that ‘it is one of the few properties listed for all four outstanding natural universal values: an outstanding example representing the major stages in the earth’s evolutionary history; as an outstanding example representing significant ongoing ecological and biological processes; as an example of superlative natural phenomena; [and] containing important and significant habitats for in situ conservation of biological diversity’ Dirk Hartog Island is also noted as being ‘the most important nesting site for loggerhead turtles in Western Australia’.

Other

Although information for the following is largely anecdotal, these wreck sites may also be associated with Dirk Hartog Island. The passages below are taken from the WA Maritime Museum wrecks database.

Emma Wreck (c.1867)

‘On 3 March 1867, the schooner Emma set sail for Fremantle from Port Walcott. She was never seen again. Almost ten years later Charles Tuckey, a well known identity in the North West and in the pearling industry told the Inquirer newspaper of a story he had heard from an Aboriginal person. It was said that following a shipwreck about ten years previously in the vicinity of North West Cape, a number of survivors took to the ship’s boats and landed on the shore. Here they were taken captive by a group of natives who then killed and ate all of them. There is no proof whatsoever of this incident, except the word of Charles (Captain) Tuckey who, like a large number of the northwest settlers were notorious for their bad behaviour toward Aboriginal people. It is included in [the WA Maritime Museum database] as an example of European legend. It may well be that there were survivors from the Emma and they met with Aboriginal groups, but any interaction is unknown at this time. The sighting of a stone cairn was reported around 1930’s in the area where the wreck may have been, along with a small cannon on the beach nearby. No one has since found this cairn or the cannon to see if they are connected to the Emma or some other lonely survivors’.

Mercury (c.1833)

‘The Mercury left Calcutta on 3 October 1833 and was never seen again. A number of rumours from Aboriginal groups could point to the fact that the Mercury was wrecked near Shark Bay. The rumours surfaced in 1834 from Aboriginals to the north of Perth, and there were two conflicting stories. The first, from Aboriginals named Tanguin and Weemat had been passed down the country by the various Aboriginal tribes, and was said to have originated from the northwest Weelman tribe. It related that a wreck had occurred about 30 (native) days walk north of the Swan River settlement. There was a lot of money to be found on the beach but no survivors had been seen. A second story was from another Aboriginal, Moiley Dubbin, and also was supposed to have originated from the Weelman tribe. In this version, there was also much money to be found, but in this instance, survivors were seen living in shelters of canvas and wood. These survivors were said to have traded biscuit for the Weelman’s spears and shields. There had been instances of Aboriginals from the north bringing British coin to Perth, so it was decided to look for survivors. An Aboriginal named Weeip was sent to look for them with a letter from the Government. If he returned with an answer from the survivors his son was to be released from prison. On his return, he had not found survivors but seen plenty of coin on the beach. It was then decided to send a ship to look for survivors, so the schooner Monkey was sent, finding nothing but some broken timbers at the south end of Dirk Hartog Island. A further expedition by the Hyacinth later in 1834 was also unsuccessful. Henderson suggests that the stories regarding coins and timbers suffered from confusion ‘by the communication barriers between European and Aboriginal and between aboriginal tribes.’ The stories reached Perth about six months after the disappearance of the Mercury. This timing and the British coins that had been brought to Perth by Aboriginals does imply that the stories could relate to the Mercury. However, this wreck has not been found and the two incidents mentioned in the introduction to this section, combined with this one, could also point to handed down stories from Aboriginal people about older wrecks, such as the Zuytdorp’.

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Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.