''Duyfken'' (; ), also in the form ''Duifje'' or spelled ''Duifken'' or ''Duijfken'', was a small ship built in the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
. She was a fast, lightly armed ship probably intended for shallow water, small valuable cargoes, bringing messages, sending provisions, or privateering.
The tonnage of ''Duyfken'' has been given as 25–30
lasten ().
In 1606, during
a voyage of discovery from Bantam (Banten),
Java
Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
, captained by
Willem Janszoon
Willem Janszoon (; ) was a Dutch navigator and colonial governor. He served in the Dutch East Indies in the periods 1603–1611 and 1612–1616, including as governor of Fort Henricus on the island of Solor. During his voyage of 1605–1606 ...
, she encountered the Australian mainland.
Janszoon is credited with the first authenticated European landing on Australia.
In 1608, the ship was damaged beyond repair.
A
reproduction
Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. There are two forms of reproduction: Asexual reproduction, asexual and Sexual ...
of ''Duyfken'' was built in Australia and launched in 1999.
Voyages
In 1595, a ship named ''Duyfken'' sailed in the first expedition to
Bantam. After returning in August 1597, this ship was renamed ''Overijsel'' and also sailed in the second and fourth expedition to the East Indies.
On 23 April 1601, another ship named ''Duyfken'' sailed from
Texel
Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of Den ...
as ''jacht'', or scout, under skipper
Willem Cornelisz Schouten to the
Spice Islands
In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for ...
. After reaching Bantam, the "Moluccan Fleet", consisting of five ships including ''Duyfken'' under admiral Wolphert Harmensz, encountered a blockading fleet of Portuguese ships totalling eight galleons and twenty-two galleys. They engaged this fleet in intermittent battle (the
Battle of Bantam), driving them away on New Year's Day 1602. Thus, the undisputed dominance of the
Iberians
The Iberians (, from , ''Iberes'') were an ancient people settled in the eastern and southern coasts of the Iberian Peninsula, at least from the 6th century BC. They are described in Greek and Roman sources (among others, by Hecataeus of Mil ...
(Portuguese and Spanish) in the
spice trade
The spice trade involved historical civilizations in Asia, Northeast Africa and Europe. Spices, such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, star anise, clove, and turmeric, were known and used in antiquity and traded in t ...
to Europe was ended.
The fleet received a warm welcome in Bantam, repairs were carried out to damage caused in the battle, and a survey of
Jakarta
Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...
Bay was undertaken, where the Dutch would later build
Batavia, their capital in the Indies. Then, sailing by way of
Tuban
Tuban is a town located on the north coast of Java, in Tuban Regency (of which the town is the administrative capital), approximately west of Surabaya, the capital of East Java. Tuban Regency is surrounded by Lamongan Regency in the east, Bojo ...
, East Java to the Spice Island of
Ternate
Ternate (), also known as the City of Ternate (; ), is the
List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city with the largest population in the province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands, Indonesia. It was the ''de facto'' provi ...
,
cloves
Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands, or Moluccas, in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring, or fragrance in consumer products, ...
were loaded on board and the ship returned to
Banda
Banda may refer to:
People
* Banda (surname)
* Banda Prakash (born 1954), Indian politician
* Banda Kanakalingeshwara Rao (1907–1968), Indian actor
* Banda Karthika Reddy (born 1977), Indian politician
*Banda Singh Bahadur (1670–1716), Sikh ...
for a cargo of
nutmeg
Nutmeg is the seed, or the ground spice derived from the seed, of several tree species of the genus '' Myristica''; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg ('' M. fragrans'') is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fru ...
.
''Duyfken'' was then sent on a voyage of exploration to the east when the newly formed
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...
(, commonly abbreviated to VOC) was granted a monopoly on trade to the Spice Islands by the Dutch government. On the voyage home from the Indies ''Duyfken'' was separated from the larger ships in a storm off
Cape Agulhas
Cape Agulhas (; , "Cape of Needles") is a rocky headland in Western Cape, South Africa. It is the geographic southern tip of Africa and the beginning of the traditional dividing line between the Atlantic and Indian oceans according to the In ...
, southern Africa and reached
Flushing in April 1603,
two months ahead of the larger ships.
On 18 December 1603, ''Duyfken'', with
Willem Janszoon
Willem Janszoon (; ) was a Dutch navigator and colonial governor. He served in the Dutch East Indies in the periods 1603–1611 and 1612–1616, including as governor of Fort Henricus on the island of Solor. During his voyage of 1605–1606 ...
as skipper, set out on a second voyage to the Indies in the VOC fleet of
Steven van der Haghen. The VOC fleet captured a Portuguese ship in
Mozambique Channel
The Mozambique Channel (, , ) is an arm of the Indian Ocean located between the Southeast African countries of Madagascar and Mozambique. The channel is about long and across at its narrowest point, and reaches a depth of about off the coa ...
and sailed to the Spice Islands via
Goa
Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
,
Calicut
Kozhikode (), also known as Calicut, is a city along the Malabar Coast in the state of Kerala in India. Known as the City of Spices, Kozhikode is listed among the City of Literature, UNESCO's Cities of Literature.
It is the nineteenth large ...
,
Pegu
Bago (formerly spelled Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon.
Etymology
The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon lang ...
and finally reaching Bantam, Java on New Year's Eve 1604.
In 1605, ''Duyfken'' was in the fleet that recaptured the fort of Van Verre at
Ambon in the Spice Islands, from the Portuguese. She was then sent to Bantam, Java for urgently needed provisions.
In 1605, the
Dutch East India Company
The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...
(VOC) sent ''Duyfken'', captained by
Willem Janszoon
Willem Janszoon (; ) was a Dutch navigator and colonial governor. He served in the Dutch East Indies in the periods 1603–1611 and 1612–1616, including as governor of Fort Henricus on the island of Solor. During his voyage of 1605–1606 ...
, to search for trade opportunities in the "south and east lands" beyond the furthest reaches of their known world. Willem Janszoon took the ship southeast from
Banda
Banda may refer to:
People
* Banda (surname)
* Banda Prakash (born 1954), Indian politician
* Banda Kanakalingeshwara Rao (1907–1968), Indian actor
* Banda Karthika Reddy (born 1977), Indian politician
*Banda Singh Bahadur (1670–1716), Sikh ...
to the
Kei Islands, then along the south coast of
New Guinea
New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
, skirting south of the shallow waters around
False Cape (Irian Jaya) and then continuing east-southeast.

In
early 1606, Janszoon encountered and then charted the shores of Australia's
Cape York Peninsula
The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...
.
The ship made landfall at the
Pennefather River
The Pennefather River is a river located on the western Cape York Peninsula in Far North Queensland, Australia.
Location and features
Formed by the confluence of a series of waterways including the Fish Creek in the Port Musgrave Aggregation ...
in the
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a sea off the northern coast of Australia. It is enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the eastern Arafura Sea, which separates Australia and New Guinea. The northern boundary ...
. This is the first authenticated sighting of Australia by Europeans, and also the first authenticated landing of Europeans on Australian soil. For the first time all the inhabited continents of the world were known to the European science of geography. The ship sailed back to Bantam.
In 1607, ''Duyfken'' may have made a second voyage east to Australia. Later in the year, she was sent to Java to get supplies for the beleaguered Dutch fortress on Ternate. In February or March 1608, ''Duyfken'' was involved in hunting Chinese
junks
A junk () is a type of Chinese sailing ship characterized by a central rudder, an overhanging flat transom, watertight bulkheads, and a flat-bottomed design. They are also characteristically built using iron nails and clamps. The term applie ...
north of
Ternate
Ternate (), also known as the City of Ternate (; ), is the
List of regencies and cities of Indonesia, city with the largest population in the province of North Maluku and an island in the Maluku Islands, Indonesia. It was the ''de facto'' provi ...
.
In May 1608, the ship was engaged in a five-hour battle with three Spanish galleys.
In June, she was sent with larger ships to capture the fortress of Taffaso on
Makian Island. A month later, she was brought inside the reef at Ternate for repairs. It seems that she was hauled on her side to repair the bottom but this caused further damage, and the ship was condemned as beyond repair.
Replica

The Duyfken Replica Project was founded by the Dutch-born Australian historian Michael John Young.
Young became aware of ''Duyfken'' as early as 1976 and lobbied extensively for a new replica project after the launch of the
Endeavour replica in Fremantle, Australia in the mid-1990s.
The Duyfken Replica committee was established in 1995 by Michael Young and retired journalist James Henderson. This led to the establishment of the Friends of the Duyfken group then ultimately, the Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation. The Foundation was initially chaired by entrepreneur Michael G. Kailis of Perth, who led the charge in raising the building budget.
On 27 March 1997, Dutch Crown Prince
William-Alexander laid the ''Duyfken'' replica's keel at the Duyfken Replica Ship Yard in front of the Fremantle Maritime Museum in Fremantle, Western Australia.

A full size reproduction of ''Duyfken'' was built by the "Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation" jointly with the
Maritime Museum of Western Australia and launched on 24 January 1999 in
Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia located at the mouth of the Swan River (Western Australia), Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australi ...
. She then undertook an expedition to Banda in Indonesia and sailed on a reenactment voyage to the Pennefather River in Queensland. Then to mark the 400th anniversary of the United Dutch East India Company (VOC) the ship sailed from
Sydney
Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
, to
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
,
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
,
Mauritius
Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
,
South Africa, Namibia, and finally
Texel
Texel (; Texels dialect: ) is a municipality and an island with a population of 13,643 in North Holland, Netherlands. It is the largest and most populated island of the West Frisian Islands in the Wadden Sea. The island is situated north of Den ...
in the Netherlands. The ship then conducted a six month exhibition tour of The Netherlands. While in the Netherlands, the floor of the hold was replaced by antique
Dutch bricks.
The story of the construction of the replica and the ship's major voyages is published in a book, ''Through Darkest Seas'', by the former Project Director and Chair of the Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation, Graeme Cocks.
For a period in 2005, ''Duyfken'' was berthed alongside the
Old Swan Brewery on the
Swan River in
Perth, Western Australia
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
. The replica was open for visits by the public.
In 2006,
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 ...
played a big role in the 400th anniversary of the original ''Duyfken''s visit to Australia. A national group called "Australia on the Map: 1606–2006" was formed to commemorate the arrival of ''Duyfken'' and to mark this important milestone in Australia's history, by also giving recognition to all who followed her and contributed to the mapping of the Australian coast.
''Duyfken'' was berthed at the
Queensland Maritime Museum in Southbank, Brisbane,
Queensland
Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
until early 2011, when she was then placed on display at the
Australian National Maritime Museum
The Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) is a Australian government, federally operated maritime museum in Darling Harbour, Sydney. After considering the idea of establishing a maritime museum, the federal government announced that a nation ...
in Sydney. In 2012 she returned to Fremantle.
In November 2020, the Foundation announced that ''Duyfken'' would return to the Australian National Maritime Museum.
COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions prevented the crew from travelling from New South Wales to Fremantle to sail the ship, so it was transported on a larger vessel to
Newcastle
Newcastle usually refers to:
*Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
*Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
, then sailed from there to Sydney, arriving on 22 December 2020. , the replica ''Duyfken'' continues to be situated in
Darling Harbour
Darling Harbour is a harbour and neighborhood adjacent to the city centre of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, that is made up of a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central busines ...
, Sydney.
Notes
References
Further reading
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*
*
External links
*
{{Authority control
16th-century ships
European exploration of Australia
Exploration ships of the Dutch Republic
Maritime exploration of Australia
Ships of the Dutch East India Company