VOC Tender Duyfken

An Introduction to the DUYFKEN articles.

For a better understanding of the following articles might it be of interest to learn why these evolved.

After the DUYFKEN replica launching at Fremantle W. A. in January 1999 an article was published in the German maritime journal Das Logbuch Vol. 36/ 2000/ 1 by H. J. Zimmer: DUYKEN, Replik des ersten europäischen Schiffes das Australien entdeckte. I was then approached by the journal’s editor to write about this new addition to the world’s replica fleet from an Australian view point.

Having seen this new ship before only fleetingly once or twice on television and living more than 3000 km away from her launching place, I requested background material from the DUYFKEN Replica Foundation, Fremantle W.A. and received it. From this and further research in my own library developed the article: Die DUYFKEN Replik, ein paar zusätzliche Worte zu diesem Thema, published in Das Logbuch Vol.36/ 2000/ 4. This piece of writing was mainly based on one question > was the 1603-1606 DUYFKEN built pinas style like the very first DUYFKEN from 1595, or similar to so many of the smaller Dutch vessels with a rounded buttock? < Being a member of the Australian Society of Maritime Artists I wrote also for the benefit of my fellow maritime painters a short article: Just a few thoughts about DUYFKEN in our Newsletter.

Having forwarded courtesy copies to the DUYFKEN Replica Foundation, this was responded by the replica’s designer; first in a not so courteous personal letter, which I completely ignored and did not react on; however in his right-of-reply article in the afore Newsletter accusing me of being perverse, unorthodox and beset by an espirit de contradiction, just for having a different opinion to his by stating the probability that DUYFKEN’s hull design could have been round tucked instead of square as his pinas-design indicated. This public smear could unfortunately not be left alone and was answered by me in the aforementioned Newsletter; then it was put aside for reasons of being too childish.

When visiting the ship six years later I noted too many structural and historically wrong items. With the replica being in the public domain and heralded by the media as an Australian icon, these gross mistakes could not remain silent and I wrote The DUYFKEN Enigma: Some alternate Design Possibilities for the half-yearly Australian maritime journal The Great Circle. Vol.29/ 1.

Already in the next issue, Vol. 29/2, appeared extensive articles written by the replica’s designer and his draftsman to defuse ‘The DUYFKEN Enigma’; trying seventy times in a very self-indulgent manner to ridicule my name. (Burningham, N. Round sterns and square arguments, and De Jong. A. Back to square one: The DUYFKEN strikes back.). My attempt to answer these on every account so absurdly wrong statements in a right-of-reply was refused by the journal’s editor for reasons that the Australian Association for Maritime History Journal’s readers (consisting to a larger part of academic members writing themselves about themes of maritime history), did not understand the intricacies of shipbuilding history (!!) and would not be interested in it. He suggested that I should find another ‘more specialized’ journal.

Was it plain accidental that these two writers and the editor called Fremantle home, or that the editor suddenly opened up half of the next journal’s issue (25 pages) for these two unedited articles, while I had my article edited and any other author had to run his writings first through an editorial board of academics before being printed? Was it coincidental that all nine international University teachers on that board were not available to judge such unprofessional outbursts? For me it was enough to quit my 25 year membership in this Association.

This rejection did not stop interest in DUYFKEN; on the contrary, it strengthened my resolve to dig deeper and provide an alternative to the Fremantle replica. V.O.C’s DUYFKEN was the first ship that mapped a part of Australia and should therefore be as much an outstanding part of the Continent’s history as H.M.S. ENDEAVOUR and H.M.S. BEAGLE, which are themes of books I wrote.

V.O.C.Tender DUYFKEN 1603 – 1606An alternative approach to the ‘Replica’ ofAustralia’s ‘Santa Maria’shall finally express what had to be said in regard to that costly mistake now sailing as ‘DUYFKEN replica’. It is also an attempt to offer the public another point of view towards how a V.O.C. Tender of that name could have looked like during the years 1603 to 1606.

No image, only approximate dimensions of her exists and everything written, designed or built as small model or in original size can only be an individual approach based on his own knowledge and on available historic facts.