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The WA Museum team was joined by internationally renowned photographer Ian Brodie to capture the beauty and isolation of the islands and design the e-book.

The blend of history and archaeology presented in this guide would not be complete without including the ever-present seabirds that permanently inhabit the islands, or migrate there for breeding and nesting. At any time of year, the islands’ birds

can always be seen, heard and smelt! For the Batavia survivors they were a vital source of food. In more recent years, Beacon Island’s wedge-tailed shearwaters have often led archaeologists to previously unknown graves, as their burrowing unearths archaeological material and brings it to the surface. The e-book’s short audio clips with Dr Chris Surman describe the habitat and behaviours of some of the birds that would have been encountered by the survivors in 1629.

The words of VOC Commander Francsico Pelsaert give readers a first-hand insight into the Batavia’s crew and passengers’ moments of terror as the ship struck the reef, their initial struggle to survive, and the horrors that took place at the hands of Jeronimus Cornelisz and his fellow mutineers.

Corioli Souter, WA Museum

Corioli is a terrestrial and maritime archaeologist who has taken part in over 40 archaeological research projects in Australia and overseas. She has led and participated in archaeological surveys, heritage assessments, excavations and interdisciplinary research efforts that have resulted in various reports, publications, exhibitions and documentary films. Corioli has been involved in Batavia research since 1999 when she participated in the excavation of the first mass grave discovered on Beacon Island.

Dr. Ross Anderson, WA Museum

Ross is a historian and maritime archaeologist, with over 25 years of experience working on terrestrial and underwater archaeological sites in Australia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. He has been with the WA Museum since 2005, and participated in all the archaeological surveys and excavations on Batavia sites during this time. He is currently the President of the Australian Association for Maritime History.

Catherine Belcher, WA Museum

Catherine first encountered the Batavia story 30 years ago when she visited WA, and it inspired her to choose a career in museums. She moved to Geraldton in 2007 to be the Regional Manager of the WA Museum, leading the popular and award-winning museum for almost 10 years. With a long career in producing interpretive visitor experiences, the Batavia National Heritage Listed Place guide fulfills her ambition to tell the story in a new and innovative way to attract visitors to Geraldton and WA’s incredible Midwest region.

Dr. Chris Surman

Chris is a marine ecologist, photographer and author. He has spent the past 40 years exploring the Houtman Abrolhos, and has studied the impacts of ocean warming upon seabird behaviour in WA over the last three decades. He has published numerous scientific papers and magazine articles, and his photographs have appeared in BBC Natural History, Canadian Wildlife, Landscope, Australian Geographic and Nature Australia. His critically acclaimed book Houtman Abrolhos: A Natural History was published in 2019.

Ian Brodie MNZM

Ian is a professional photographer and New Zealand’s biggest selling non-fiction author, publishing over 20 books and selling more than 1.5 million copies. He is also a film tourism consultant, e-book designer and publisher, working world-wide. In 2005 he was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to tourism and writing. He currently lives in Perth.

VOC Commander Francisco Pelsaert

Pelsaert’s journals are some of the few contemporary records to document the events that followed Batavia’s wreck and the subsequent mutiny. English translations from Pelsaert’s original old Dutch accounts are used throughout the e-book to give his perspectives on the events and the survivors’ experiences. The English translations are taken from Voyage to Disaster by Henrietta Drake-Brockman and E. D. Drok.