''Batavia Road'' is an
anchorage
Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolita ...
, or
roadstead
A roadstead or road is a sheltered body of water where ships can lie reasonably safely at anchor without dragging or snatching.United States Army technical manual, TM 5-360. Port Construction and Rehabilitation'. Washington: United States. Gove ...
, in the
Pelsaert Group of the
Houtman Abrolhos, off the coast of
Western Australia
Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
. It is located at ,
on the eastern side of
Pelsaert Island, near its southern end.
[Australia 1:100000 Topographic Survey, Map sheet 1640 (Edition 1): Abrolhos Special] It was discovered and named in April 1840 by
John Clements Wickham, captain of
HMS ''Beagle''. Wickham's assistant
John Lort Stokes
Admiral John Lort Stokes (1 August 1811 – 11 June 1885) was a Royal Navy officer who served onboard for almost eighteen years.Although 1812 is frequently given as Stokes's year of birth, it has been argued by author Marsden Hordern that Stok ...
later wrote:
In fact the ''Batavia'' was wrecked in the
Wallabi Group, 60 kilometres (40 mi) to the north. The wreckage seen by the ''Beagle'' was either that of the ''Zeewyk'', or the unidentified wreck seen by the ''Zeewyks'' crew.
The name ''Batavia Road'' is thus a
misnomer
A misnomer is a name that is incorrectly or unsuitably applied. Misnomers often arise because something was named long before its correct nature was known, or because an earlier form of something has been replaced by a later form to which the nam ...
, as are a number of other places named by Stokes, including Pelsaert Island, the Pelsaert Group, and
Wreck Point. Stokes' erroneous view was accepted without question for over fifty years,
and it has been claimed that the confusion caused the discovery of the ''Batavia'' shipwreck to be set back by over a century.
References
{{reflist
Houtman Abrolhos
Roadsteads