Reilcs from the Ship Batavia, Wrecked in 1629.

Cromwell Argus, Volume I, Issue 8, 29 December 1869, Page 2

Reilcs from the Ship Batavia, Wrecked in 1629.

Amongst some of the recent additions to the Museum of Antiquities in connection with the Hyclneyi University—frequently designated in honour of its Founder the “ Nicholsonian Museum’’—are two very interesting objects connected with the earliest history of Australia. The first of these is a much weather-worn broken dram glass, about two inches and three-quarters high, and tapering towards the base, whore the glass is unusually thick. It is ornamented with flowers and a series of festoons, cut deep into the glass, around the outer rim. The other object is a massive and highly ornamented sword belt buckle, of bronze, partially gilt, about six inches long and two inches and a half wide. Those remarkable objects were both found not long ago (by Capt. Stokes, R.N., of ll.M.’s surveying ship Beagle), on one of the Albrohes, also called Houtman’s Group, a small cluster of rocky barren islands, about 200 miles off the coast of Western Australia, a little to the north of what is now kndwn as the mouth of Swan River. From tiie antique appearance of those wellauthenticated relics, and the isolated position of the locality in which they wore discovered, it is evident they must have belonged to the Batavia—a Dntcb ship, wrecked on one of those lonely and desolate islands during the night of the 4th of Juno, lb2o. The Batavia was one of the eleven vessels sent out from Holland in the seventeenth century, by the Dutch Government, under Captain Francis Pelsart, to take possession of Australia, or (as the Dutch then commonly called it) the “ Great Southern Laud.” tt was, moreover, intended, at that time, to found a colony, or at least a large settlement on these distant coasts. The history of the Batavia is a very singular and terrible one. After the actual wreck (when all or nearly all, appear to have been saved), the majority of the crew mutinied—-murdered each other by wholesale, together with many of those who remained faithful to their duty. The Captain and some few of.his crew, however, got away from the Albrohos, and in a small skiff or open boat, managed to arrive in safety at the mainland—being, as wo supposed, the first Europeans who ever set foot in New Holland, or Australia. Pelsart and those that were with him then sailed many hundred miles up the Australian coast to the northward, until they reached a telerably wellknown point far away in the tropics ; whence they stood off the laud for Java, and so-finallyarrived# after suffering many privations, at the city of Batavia. But a very large number of the crew were left behind at the Albrohos islands, and amongst those most unhappy and abandoned men, scenes of murder and unchecked violence prevailed, until a Dutch ship (the Saardam, frigate) at length made its appearance with Captain Pelsart, to look after the remnant that was left. He found the mutineer’s had already murdered one hundred and twenty-five persons, but that some few still bravely resisted the traitors. The ringleader (Jerome Cornells) and about seventy or eighty of bis associates were promptly and sternly executed on the spot by Captain Pelsart, who then sailed for Java, on the 28th September, 1G29. [Sec Thevenot’s “Collections;” and Bonnet’s “ Australian Discovery and Colonisation,” chapter 2, page 18.] It is to be observed that this sword-belt buckle was worn, according to the fashion of that day, in front, obliquely —on a leathern belt, settled like the ribbon of a Chivalric Order; not fastened round the waist, as at present. The belt of which it formed part probably once belonged to an officer, and may. (possibly) have been worn by the pirate Cornells himself. These interesting illustrations of a dark and dreadful episode in the early history of Australia were presented to the Sydney University Museum by Major W, H. Christie, formerly Postmaster General of this colony.

The European Mail has been favoured by Mr Helmufch Schwartze, of London, with the following complaint from an eminent French manufacturer :—“ In sorting our New Zealand wools, we arc obliged to take out all portions covered with marking tar, in order to have the end of the staple cut off. This is an expensive operation, and as it moreover causes great waste, it makes the washed wool stand at much higher prices than would otherwise be the case. The evil is still more serious when some of these tar-topped staples escape the attention of our sorters, which—by reason of their really extraordinary quantity—is only too often the case. The tar will not dissolve in hot water ; and in passing through the machinery it breaks the delicate points of cards and combs, from whence it can only with difficulty be extracted. Portions of it remain in the combed wool and in the noils—the former making in consequence a bad yarn, and the latter being almost unsaleable at even very low prices. Now all this loss and inconvenience might bo avoided if growers would use a soluble substance for marking their sheep. In Europe, red ochre is generally employed. It serves its purpose perfectly, .and has none of the above-men-tioned annoying drawbacks.” Ourcohtcmporarv commends the matter to the careful consideration of wool-growers.