Dirk Hartog's Landing - 350th Anniversary

Date of Issue: October 24, 1966
Scott:  423

Dirk Hartog (1580  –  1621) was a 17th century Dutch sailor and explorer. Dirk Hartog's expedition was the second European group to land on Australian soil. He left behind an artifact to record his visit, the Hartog plate (depicted on cachet design on FDC).  He made landfall at an island on  1616, off the coast of Shark Bay, Western Australia, which is now called Dirk Hartog Island, named after him. His was the second recorded European expedition to land on the Australian continent, but the first to do so on the western coastline.

Dirk gained employment with the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in 1616, and was appointed master of a ship (the Eendracht, meaning "Concord" or "Unity") in a fleet voyaging from the Netherlands to the Dutch East Indies. The Eendracht is a 17th century Dutch wooden hulled sailing ship.

Fate of the ship, Eendracht: She apparently remained in the East Indies, until 13 May 1622, where on a local trading voyage she is recorded as having been wrecked and lost off the western coast of Ambon Island in the central Moluccas. She had aboard a cargo of coins, and her wreck has not been recovered.

The Dirk Hartog plate may now be seen in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

In 1985, Australia Post issued a set of four stamps commemorating 200 years of colonization and on one stamp, the ship Eendracht is depicted (see image on right). Scott #: 950

Source: Wikipedia