Episode Eleven: The Batavia, or: A Bad Time for Everyone

Engraving of the massacre that followed Batavia shipwreck from the Ongeluckige Voyagie (1647 edition)

On 4th of June, 1629, the Batavia struck a reef off the coast of a then unknown land (now Western Australia). It took a week for the Batavia to sink, and the tragedy had not even begun.

CORRECTION: The Batavia was launched in 1628, not 1629 as stated in the episode. The wrecking of the ship and the events on Batavia’s Graveyard do take place in 1629.

Check out our website and find us @themaydaypod on Instagram and Twitter to say hello. Thanks as always to our composer and producer Marlon Grunden, who you can find at his website here.

Further reading/listening:

• “Australia’s worst serial killer”, hosted by Dom Knight and David Hunt on podcast Rum, Rebels, & Ratbags

• Wreck of the Batavia from the National Museum Australia

• Batavia’s History from the Western Australian Museum

---