Duyfken

Timeline

1. c. 1601–1605Bantam, Java · BantamAfter being built in the Netherlands, the Duyfken arrived in the East Indies in 1603 with Steven van der Hagen's fleet, serving as a light jacht for reconnaissance and liaison. Willem Janszoon already commanded the ship during this period, preparing to explore the unknown coast south of New Guinea and seek trade opportunities for the Company.
2. c. 1605–1606West coast of Cape York Peninsula, Gulf of Carpentaria · Cape York PeninsulaThe Company sent Janszoon with the Duyfken to explore the "Southland" south of New Guinea. The fleet sailed east along New Guinea's south coast, then turned southeast across the Arafura Sea, landing on the west coast of the Cape York Peninsula and charting about 320 km of coast. Crew members went ashore several times to contact Indigenous people, and conflicts also occurred. Janszoon regarded the land as a southern extension of New Guinea, not realizing he had reached another continent.
3. 1606–1608Banda–Bantam waters, Dutch East Indies · MalukuAfter the Duyfken returned to Banda, its 1606 voyage was drawn into Company charts, becoming the first pictorial evidence of the Australian coast recorded by Europeans. The original ship continued in East Indies service until damaged beyond repair around 1608. The original log and chart are lost; 17th-century copies and Carstenszoon's 1623 voyage account preserved the key geographic information.
4. 1616Coast of New Holland (Australia) · AustraliaThe Duyfken chart provided later Dutch fleets with empirical proof of the "Southland's" existence. In 1616 Dirk Hartog left a plate in Western Australia; in 1642–1644 Abel Tasman circumnavigated and named Van Diemen's Land, gradually connecting scattered coastlines into "New Holland." In 2006 Australia commemorated the 400th anniversary of the ship's landing, and the replica became a vehicle for public history education.