1656 wrecksite of the Gilt Dragon, off Ledge Point.
Thought I'd chuck up one more shipwreck video. I know a few guys on the site have shown interest in the old VOC wrecks before. This video is of the Vergulde Draeck (Gilt Dragon) wrecked off Ledge in April 1656.
It's a pretty interesting story, 68 surviving sailors were marooned on the beaches north of Seabird however, no trace of the dutchmen was ever found when the first VOC rescue ships begun searching the coast a few months later. In the following years more VOC searches led to the first Europeans to walk on the Perth Coast and the first charts ever drawn of Perth, Rottnest and Geographe Bay to Dongara in 1658, 120 or so years before Cook discovered the East Coast of Australia. A few things have shown up in the sand dunes since the 1930's but its still pretty much a complete mystery what happened to the missing Dutchmen or where they went.
All that is pretty much left on the site now is anchors and cannons with everything else being excavated by the Museum, its got some pretty cool little caves but still pretty interesting to go back to where it all began almost 4 centuries ago.
feel free to watch if your into it:)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uR0G6T4CF54&list=UUmODJnOi2vepDanb8upHgzA
Dave J.
Swompa
Posts: 3783
Date Joined: 14/10/12
Nice vid. What was max
Nice vid. What was max depth?
Reefmonkey
Posts: 711
Date Joined: 22/09/08
Cheers swompa, pertty
Cheers swompa, pretty shallow dive, max is around 8-9 metres in the cave and the area where all the coins were recovered. most of it is around 6 and only about 2 metres on top of the reef
Dave J.
meglodon
Posts: 5981
Date Joined: 17/06/10
Thanks for that
Survivors, I wonder what a DNA test of some of the aboriginal tribes that had that area as their home would show up.
Nauti Buoy
Posts: 595
Date Joined: 20/04/09
Great Vid
Such an interesting story such a pity it was never found out what happened to the survivors.
Auslobster
Posts: 1901
Date Joined: 03/05/08
Always fascinating...
...thinking about the seafarers of that time, sailing off into the vast unknown. Watched a movie last week about the Con-Tiki, where the Incas of Peru, 1500 years ago, constructed a raft out of balsa wood and sailed westward, not really knowing where they were going, and eventually discovering Polynesia, some three months later.
Pretty powerful thing, Man's curiosity/spirit of adventure!
Reefmonkey
Posts: 711
Date Joined: 22/09/08
thanks for checking it out guys
Yeah you would've felt pretty lonely if you were one of the marooned survivours. Being stuck on the southland coast in 1656 would almost be like being stranded on pluto by todays standards.
Pretty nuts travelling to the other side of the planet only on the notes of the guy that went before you.
Dave J.
dano83
Posts: 790
Date Joined: 25/05/12
If your into shipwrecks....
If your into shipwrecks.... unfinished voyages is a book about almost 1500 wrecks of the wa coast
good read
Reefmonkey
Posts: 711
Date Joined: 22/09/08
Dave J.
Rob H
Posts: 5744
Date Joined: 18/01/12
great video Dave, as you know
great video Dave, as you know been tryin to get there for years!
Marooned, by James Henderson is the quintessential book for anyone with an interest in this wreck.
Abraham Leeman was the mate on board and sailed the longboat to Batavia not once, but twice when he was abandoned by the rescue ship also.
He kept an excellent diary of the experiences
I managed to score a First Edition copy online, signed by the author in 1988, for about $25.
A prized possession...
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
Reefmonkey
Posts: 711
Date Joined: 22/09/08
Cheers Rob
sent you a pm after we dived it with the GPS mark right over the site. If it didnt come through let me know and i'll re-send it as a few of my pm's haven't been sending lately.
Amazing story about Leeman hey. Have always wanted to do a tinny run island to island from Two Rocks to Jurien. Try and trace his trip and work out which islands they stayed on.
Always keen to head out to the site again. Was pretty much a fluke finding the site straight away. If work schedules stop getting in the way always keen for a dive.
Dave J.
sarcasm0
Posts: 1396
Date Joined: 25/06/09
No comments on Allen Robinson?
Try Graeme Henderson's Phantoms of the Tryall for a great read of WA history and how Robinson (the gelignite buccaneer) falsly found the wreck, had his location laughed at by Jack Sue. In a twist of fate Robinson was there when the true wrecksite was found but was not diving as he felt sick. He went on to falsly claim he discovered the wreck and registered himself as solo finder behind everyones back. The he began diving and blowing up the wreck to gain access to more coin. Robinson had at least two acts of state legislation and one federal to try to curb his activities. This wreck was also led to the worlds first real maritime archaeology department being formed at the WA Museum and pioneering many of the techniques used around the world. Robinson then went on to blow up the Tryall(the first european shipwreck in australia) wreck at the Montebello's out of spite knowing it had no treasure.
Truly fascinating story that once again proves that true life often trumps fiction for its surreality.
Rob H
Posts: 5744
Date Joined: 18/01/12
yeah I read it a couple of
yeah I read it a couple of years back, facsinating read.
He had quite a violent history, Robinson
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
Reefmonkey
Posts: 711
Date Joined: 22/09/08
Have most of the books on WA wrecks
interesting read with Robinsons book. Seems a lot of people read it as gospel and dig the conspiricy theories, have heard around the traps from people who used to dive UWEC in the very early days. Seems he was a pretty good guy early on but known for telling a good/tall story. Actually have two copies of his book... not because of any historical merrit but the $$$$$$! very rare book now days, got them cheap, have seen it advertised for over $300 bucks a copy!
Dave J.