Early Hydrography Recognised

Willem Janszoon Monument Unveiled in Canberra

The last project commemorating the 400th anniversary of Australia first being charted took place recently in the leafy suburb of Griffith, within the Australian Capital Territory. On Saturday 20th October 2007, a three-in-one –launch was held: with the inauguration of the Willem Janszoon Commemorative Park, the issue of the Explorer’s Guide for a series of local walks and the unveiling of a Willem Janszoon Monument. The launch was organised by Australia On The Map (AOTM).

Griffith and the surrounding suburbs, a predominantly diplomatic district, have the distinction of having nearly all the streets named after hydrographers, explorers or their ships. From Bass to Bougainville, from Van Diemen to Vancouver, from Cook to Carstensz, the list of avenues and boulevards include names such as Torres, Flinders, Moresby, La Perouse, Dalrymple, Hartog and, in all, totals some 150 streets and byways.

Amongst such esteemed company, the dedication of a major park and monument in Jans­zoon’s name bares testament to his unique achievement in being the first European to chart the Australian coast, a feat he accomplished when he surveyed over 300 kilometres of Cape York in 1606.

Similar to the long-awaited unveiling of the Willem de Vlamingh Monument in Perth, Western Australia, four days earlier, it has taken a long time to raise money, design and build the sculptured monument and, of course, obtain necessary sanctions and approvals. Both projects were meant to have been completed in 2006, but the end results were worth the wait.

The sculpture by Julie Kenneth consists of “iron ribs, brown of natural corrosion, with feminine curves and of subtle transparency that represent the internal framework of a sailing ship”.

The formal inauguration of the park was undertaken by the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Mr Jon Stanhope. He then launched the illustrated Explorers Guide for navi­gating three educational walks through local streets; all named after early marine explorers or their ships. In his speech he stated: “This project is paramount in us appreciating our heritage and history better”.

The Netherlands Ambassador to Australia, Mr Niek van Zutphen, also gave a speech emphasising the close and friendly relations between The Netherlands and Australia. He expressed confidence that this relationship would last for the next 400 years and jointly unveiled the sculpture with Chief Minister Stanhope. A time capsule with the names of all those present at the launch was placed within the monument.

The inauguration was not without some impressive entertainment, with the singing of what was presented as a ‘Dutch Seafarer’s Song’ by the Cathedral Choir of Saint Christopher. Those of Dutch extraction instantly recognised it as ‘De Zilvervloot’. The Indonesian aspects of the historic achievements (Janszoon having departed from the VOC trading post at Bantam) were represented by a Javanese Gamelan instrumental performance by Mr Soegito Hardjodikoro of the Indonesian Embassy.

Very importantly, indigenous endorsement of the new park and monument was given by Aboriginal Tribal Elder, Matilda House. With clever humour, she welcomed the Dutch Ambassador with the remark that “If you [the Dutch] would have stayed, I probably would have been able to pronounce your name properly”, referring to the 150 years of Dutch visits to Australia in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The function was the last of some 200 events held across Australia to commemorate this significant milestone in hydro­graphy; with great credit for this particular event owed to the ACT Steering Committee of AOTM, under the chairmanship of Mr Patrick Brazil, AO. Among many on the committee worthy of mention are Mr Jonathan Benyei and Mrs Keva North, in addition to the very energetic Rupert Gerritsen.
Ambassador van Zutphen caused the surprise of the afternoon by announcing that the new Chairman of AOTM, Mr Rupert Gerritsen, had been appointed to the rank of ‘ridder’ (knight) in the Order of Orange-Nassau. Australian-born, Mr Gerritsen was one of the initiators of the entire AOTM concept and has had multiple functions (often concurrently) since 2002. AOTM has now joined with the AHS to become a focus for hydrographic heritage and has an impressive agenda of new projects.