The shocking true story of the 1629 Batavia massacre haunts Western Australia’s pristine Houtman Abrolhos Islands. From Dutch East India Company treasure ships to mutiny and mass murder, discover how these extraordinary coral islands became the site of one of Australia’s darkest historical events.
The deceptively beautiful Morning Reef
The Morning Reef is dazzlingly pretty. From the air, it’s a multi-coloured carpet of deep blues, vivid greens and everything in between.
In the middle of it, peeking just far enough above the water to count as a landmass, is what looks like a triangle with added bull horns. That tiny speck is Beacon Island.
And it was the epicentre of one of the darkest, but most remarkable, stories in Australian history. It may look calm and unthreatening now, but in 1629, dozens of people were murdered there by a rampaging band of shipwrecked mutineers.
Western Australia’s remote island archipelago
Beacon Island is one of the Houtman Abrolhos, an archipelago of 122 islands lying approximately 60km off the coast of Geraldton in Western Australia. No-one lives there permanently, although rock lobster fishermen make temporary bases on many of the islands during the fishing season.
Aside from the fishermen’s huts, though, signs of human life pretty much boil down to the series of ships that have come a cropper on the reefs.
Why book the Abrolhos Islands 5-Day Cruise?
- ⛴️ Enjoy a 5-day cruise aboard the Eco Abrolhos, exploring Western Australia’s remote Abrolhos Islands
- 🐟 Engage in snorkeling, fishing, birdwatching, and encounter sea lions in pristine marine environments
- 🦞 Delight in “ocean-to-plate” meals, including freshly caught lobster prepared by the onboard chef
- ⚓ Visit historic and ecological highlights like the Batavia shipwreck and pearl farms for unique storytelling opportunities
- 🛏 Stay comfortably in well-appointed cabins—with all meals, linen, and shore excursions included—before flying or boating back to Geraldton
The Dutch East India Company’s flagship disaster
The most significant of these was the Batavia, the shiny new flagship of the Dutch East India Company, which was heavily laden with treasure. The destination was the city it was named after – Batavia (now Jakarta) – from where the Dutch East India Company ran its monopoly on the highly lucrative spice trade.
The ship, however, had gone significantly off-course – part of a plot by the skipper Araien Jacobsz and undermerchant Jeronimus Cornelisz to isolate the ship from the rest of the fleet and take it over. But then it crashed into Morning Reef before the mutiny could take place.
Survival becomes impossible on Beacon Island
Some drowned trying to escape the wreck, but most made it to Beacon Island, where it was abundantly clear that the lack of fresh water and food would make survival virtually impossible. Commander Francisco Pelsaert took Jacobsz and other crew to the other islands in a long boat to look for water.
They found nothing, so headed to the mainland, and then decided to make the incredibly difficult voyage to Indonesia in order to get help. Unfortunately, they didn’t tell the rest what they were doing.
This left Cornelisz in nominal charge on Beacon Island, and his solution to preserving the supplies left on board the wreck was rather gruesome.
The reign of terror begins
He started by sending groups to other islands where his scouting parties had deceitfully promised there would be water. Crucially, this got rid of the soldiers on board the ship who might challenge the reign of terror he was about to inflict.
His fellow would-be mutineers started killing off the rest of the survivors – at first vaguely surreptitiously, and then openly embarking on mass slaughter. Women were taken as sex slaves, survivors were forced to kill or be killed, children had their throats cut and the mutineers paraded around in the finest clothing rescued from the ship.
The soldiers’ desperate fight for survival
Astonishingly, Pelsaert and co made it to Batavia, and came back in the middle of a pitched battle. The soldiers banished to East and West Wallabi Islands had managed to find fresh water and an abundance of tammar wallabies to eat.
They were holding out under attack from the mutineers and managed to get to Pelsaert’s rescue ship to explain their side of the story first.
Justice and Australia’s first European inhabitants
Cornelisz and many of the key mutineers were executed on Long Island, while two – Wouter Loos and Jan Pelgrom de Bye – were left on the Australian mainland. They became the first European inhabitants of Australia, and no-one knows what happened to them.
Flying over the islands gives a good idea of where things unfolded – the merciless reef that the ship was stricken upon; the considerable distances between the islands that escapees had to navigate clutching only a piece of driftwood; the spot where the wreck was finally found in 1963.
Visiting East Wallabi Island today
But Shine Aviation’s day tour lands on only one island – East Wallabi. This was where the soldiers were initially dispatched to before they waded through the shallows to West Wallabi and found water.
East Wallabi now has a small red dirt airstrip, and an awful lot of untouched white sand beach. It’s simultaneously beautiful and desolate – there’s an isolated, end of the world feel, with just a small hut on Turtle Bay to let the real world intrude.
Natural wonders of the Indian Ocean’s southernmost reefs
The most southerly reefs in the Indian Ocean are a short snorkel offshore, while the walking tracks reveal osprey nests, legions of seabirds and some devastatingly sharp rock cliffs. It’d be these that the Batavia survivors would have had to climb up.
Just off the tracks, however, rustling in the saltbush scrub, are the saviours of the marooned soldiers. The tammar wallabies which give the island its name are still scuttling around, now unthreatened by hungry shipwreck victims.
Their ancestors would have had quite the story to pass down through the generations.
The Batavia massacre: Australia’s darkest maritime disaster
The Batavia massacre remains one of Australia’s most shocking historical events. What began as a routine Dutch East India Company voyage to the spice islands became a tale of:
- Shipwreck survival on remote coral islands
- Mutiny and mass murder amongst desperate castaways
- Sexual violence and psychological terror
- The first Europeans to inhabit mainland Australia
- Military resistance against overwhelming odds
Why the Houtman Abrolhos story matters today
The Houtman Abrolhos Islands massacre offers crucial insights into:
Early Australian colonial history
The Batavia wreck predates the First Fleet by 159 years, making it a pivotal moment in understanding European contact with Australia. The story reveals the brutal realities of 17th century maritime travel and survival.
Archaeological significance
The 1963 discovery of the Batavia wreck revolutionised Australian maritime archaeology. Artefacts from the ship provide unique insights into Dutch East India Company operations and 17th century material culture.
Human psychology under extreme stress
The rapid descent from civilised passengers to murderous mutineers illustrates how quickly social order can collapse. The Beacon Island massacre serves as a case study in group dynamics, leadership failure, and survival psychology.
Visiting the Houtman Abrolhos Islands today
Getting to the islands
Shine Aviation runs day tours to the Houtman Abrolhos Islands from Geraldton Airport, costing $520 at the time of publication. The scenic flight provides spectacular aerial views of the Morning Reef and Beacon Island massacre site.
It’s also possible to do a five day Abrolhos Islands cruise.
What to expect on your visit
Tours typically include:
- Scenic flights over the 122 islands of the archipelago
- Landing on East Wallabi Island with guided walks
- Snorkelling on pristine Indian Ocean reefs
- Wildlife viewing including tammar wallabies and seabirds
- Historical interpretation of the Batavia massacre sites
Planning your Houtman Abrolhos adventure
The islands are accessible year-round, though weather conditions can affect flights. Rock lobster season (November to June) sees increased boat activity but doesn’t impact scenic flights.
More Western Australia travel
Other Western Australia travel articles on Planet Whitley include:
- 6 reasons to add Perth to your Australian holiday.
- Why you should see the Pinnacles at night.
- What it’s like to swim with whale sharks.
- Why I enjoyed the notorious drive across the Nullabor.
- How worried should I be about crocodiles in Australia?
