Who was Dirk Hartog?
Dirk Hartog was a Dutch sea captain who, in 1616, made the second recorded European landing in Australia, on an island off the coast of Western Australia. He left an inscribed pewter plate to record his visit.
Hartog commanded the Eendracht, a ship of the Dutch East India Company sailing to Batavia, now Jakarta. Ships following a new route across the Indian Ocean sometimes sailed too far east and reached the Australian coast.
On 25 October 1616, Hartog landed on the island now called Dirk Hartog Island, at the entrance to Shark Bay.
The Hartog plate
Before leaving, Hartog nailed a flattened pewter plate to a post, inscribed with details of his visit. It is the oldest known artifact recording a European landing in Australia.
In 1697, Dutch explorer Willem de Vlamingh found the plate, took it and replaced it with his own. Hartog's plate is now in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Dirk Hartog Island is now a national park, and a replica of the plate stands at Cape Inscription. The first recorded European landing was made by Willem Janszoon in 1606 on Cape York Peninsula.