Dirk Hartog
Dutch mariner who left the first European artefact in Australia.
Dirk Hartog, a Dutch mariner and explorer of the 17th century, is remembered as the second European to set foot on Australia and the first to leave a physical record of his visit—a pewter plate now known as the Hartog Plate. Born into a seafaring family, he was baptised on 30 October 1580 in Amsterdam’s Oude Kerk. His name appears in various spellings, including Dirck Hartog and Dierick Hartochsz, and he signed documents as Dyrck Hartoochz, though Australian history has settled on Dirk Hartog.
Hartog began his maritime career commanding ships at age 30, trading successfully in the Baltic and Mediterranean. In 1616, he joined the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as master of the *Eendracht*. Sailing from the Netherlands in January with a fleet, he became separated in a storm and reached the Cape of Good Hope alone. Crossing the Indian Ocean, he used the strong westerly Roaring Forties—a route pioneered by Hendrik Brouwer—to speed his journey to Batavia (now Jakarta).
On 25 October 1616, near 26° south latitude, Hartog and his crew encountered uninhabited islands. He landed on an island off Shark Bay, Western Australia, now called Dirk Hartog Island. This was the second recorded European landing on Australia, after Willem Janszoon in 1606, but the first on the western coast. Hartog spent three days exploring, naming the area Eendrachtsland after his ship, though the name did not last. Before departing, he nailed a pewter plate to a post, inscribed with a record of his visit. The inscription, translated from Dutch, notes the ship *Eendracht*, the supercargo Gilles Miebais, and Hartog himself as skipper, along with the dates of arrival and departure for Bantam.
Finding little of interest, Hartog sailed north along the uncharted coast, charting it up to about 22° south, then continued to Batavia, arriving in December 1616—five months late. He left the VOC in 1618 after returning to Amsterdam and resumed private trading in the Baltic.
Hartog married 18-year-old Meynsgen Abels on 20 February 1611 in the Old Church, with Calvinist rites; they had no known children. He died in Amsterdam in 1621 and was buried on 11 October in the Nieuwe Kerk, though his remains were later moved to a communal grave outside the city.
In 1619, explorers Frederik de Houtman and Jacob d’Edel sighted land near present-day Perth, calling it d’Edelsland, and later reached Eendrachtsland.
- Born
- baptised 30 October 1580, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Died
- buried 11 October 1621, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Field
- Mariner, explorer
- Nationality
- Dutch
- Known for
- Second European landing in Australia; first to leave an artefact (Hartog Plate)
Lore & Background
Dirk Hartog was born into a seafaring family, baptized on 30 October 1580 in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam. He received his first ship's command at age 30 and traded in the Baltic and Mediterranean seas. In 1616 he joined the Dutch East India Company as master of the Eendracht, sailing from the Netherlands to the Dutch East Indies. Separated from his fleet in a storm, he arrived independently at the Cape of Good Hope and then used the Roaring Forties winds to cross the Indian Ocean.
On 25 October 1616, at approximately 26° latitude south, Hartog and his crew unexpectedly encountered uninhabited islands off the coast of Shark Bay, Western Australia. He landed on what is now Dirk Hartog Island, spending three days examining the coast. Before departing, he affixed a pewter plate to a post, inscribed with a record of his visit. He then sailed northwards along the uncharted coastline to about 22° latitude south, making nautical charts, before continuing to Batavia, arriving in December 1616. He left VOC employment in 1618 and resumed private trading.
Reader's Guide
Dirk Hartog's significance lies in his being the second recorded European to land on the Australian continent, after Willem Janszoon in 1606, and the first to do so on the western coastline. His Hartog Plate, left on Dirk Hartog Island in 1616, is the oldest-known written artefact from Australia's European history. The plate was later found in 1697 by Willem de Vlamingh, who replaced it with a new plate and returned the original to Amsterdam, where it is housed in the Rijksmuseum. Hartog's landing and naming of the area Eendrachtsland (after his ship) contributed to early European mapping of Australia. His legacy is commemorated in the name Dirk Hartog Island, in Australian postage stamps (1966 and 1985), a 2016 silver coin from the Perth Mint, and streets named after him in Amsterdam, Canberra, and fourteen other Australian towns.
Did You Know?
- Dirk Hartog's name is sometimes alternatively spelled Dirck Hartog or Dierick Hartochsz.
- He signed his name as Dyrck Hartoochz in several extant documents.
- The Hartog plate was temporarily returned to Australia in 2000 for an exhibition at the Australian National Maritime Museum.
- Hartog was buried on 11 October 1621 in the grounds of the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam; his remains were later moved to a communal grave field.
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