Dirck Hartogh dish
‘Arrived here on 25 October 1616’ is the message of this flattened pewter dish. En route to Java, VOC captain Dirck Hartogh accidentally happened upon Australia’s west coast. Before sailing on he had the date, the ship’s name and destination, and the names of the most important crewmembers scratched into this dish. He nailed it to a pole, where it hung exposed to the elements until another Dutch captain found and took it along close to 80 years later.