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Wiebbe Hayes and his soldiers

In late June, Jeronimus Cornelisz identified Wiebbe Hayes, a soldier, and a party of the other ‘boldest’ soldiers and civilians he thought would threaten his authority. He ordered them to go to a ‘long island’ to search for water, leaving their weapons behind. Cornelisz assumed they would fail and hopefully disappear, as Pelsaert had done when he had sailed in that direction. However, after searching for twenty days, Hayes and his men were successful in finding two natural rockholes with fresh water that rose and fell with the tide. The island was also rich in natural food resources such as sea lions, fish, oysters, birds, eggs and tammar wallabies.

On 9 July, as previously agreed with Cornelisz, Hayes and his men made three fires to signal they had found water. Cornelisz ignored their signals, continuing with his murderous activities. Receiving no response, Hayes’ party began to have suspicions. These were confirmed by other survivors, who had also seen the fires, making their way by swimming or in rafts, to seek safety with them. They reported the horrors occurring on Batavia’s Graveyard to Hayes. Realising that Cornelisz may launch an attack, the resourceful group constructed at least one, possibly two, stone-walled structures and made defensive weapons in preparation for their arrival.

Left: Photogrammetric 3D model of the coastal structure on West Wallabi Island.

Credit: WA Museum

Above: West Wallabi Island was also rich in natural food resources such as sea lions, fish, oysters, birds, eggs and tammar wallabies.

Credit: I. Brodie