On the picture Dr Brett Mason Ambassador of Australia, Ms Mimi de Wit Director Corporate Banking Rabobank and Mr Gregor van Essen Managing Director, Holland Water Challenge.
By Jan W. van der Loos.
Australia’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, His Excellency, Dr Brett Mason, hosted a special event at his residence in celebration of the “Dirk Hartog Year” (1616-2016) on the 28th of January. The Dutch mariner and navigator, Hartog, is remembered as having been among the first Europeans to explore the “unknown continent.”
Hartog was skipper of the Dutch trading vessel, the Eendracht, in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), when he first made landfall in Australia on October 25, 1616. The Eendracht was unintentionally exploring the country’s northwest coast, after it strayed off course from the newly adopted “Brouwer Route” during a storm.
Today, a monument marks the site where Hartog and his crew came ashore at Cape Inscription, which is now the most northerly point of Cape Inscription National Park on the northern point of the island that bears his name, in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area.
For additional Kim Vermaat’s pictures on the Australian National Day, please click here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157663619728970
Ambassador Mason presented an engaging account of Hartog’s adventures, which are of historic importance to both Australia and the Netherlands, to some fifty specially invited guests from the diplomatic, business and academic communities. The ambassador noted that a desire to establish business and trade relationships motivated Hartog’s early explorations for the VOC in the 17th Century and his speech emphasized the long and trusted relationship between both countries.
Many of his guests continue to be actively engaged in fostering and enhancing this important relationship between the two countries today.
centre middle: Ms Indra McCormick – Counsellor at the Australian Embassy
bottom left: Mr Malcolm Rock – Artistic Director ODD Continent
bottom Centre: Ambassador Mason
Hartog left a record of his “discovery” on a flattened pewter plate, inscripted with the date, which was nailed to an oak post securely positioned on a cliff top overlooking the bay. The plate is the oldest European artifact to be found on the continent and is now on display in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Amateur historians may also be interested in viewing an electronic image of the plate, which can be accessed on the museum’s official website!
Guests also enjoyed a private viewing of a priceless collection of sea charts and maps of Hartog’s original 17th C. unexpected exploration of “t land van d’ Eendracht” meaning the “Country of Unity” to describe the previously uncharted territory which first placed Australia “on the map.”
A private viewing of a colorful aboriginal art exhibit, temporarily on loan from the Museum of contemporary Aboriginal art in Utrecht (AAMU) was also of particular interest to guests. During a tėte á tėte with other visitors; Mr. William Andreae, the former Dutch ambassador in Australia, and the chairman of the AAMU, Prof. dr. Dop Bär, engaged in a lively discussion about art and shared anecdotes and other details about those early explorations with some of the guests.
An array of the country’s gastronomic specialties and light refreshments were served to guests and, following the speech, guests enjoyed a musical program featuring musicians and singers performing traditional Australian songs. Ambassador Mason, together with support from his hospitable staff, organized an informative and entertaining program for everyone present.
For more information about the special events being planned by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Australia and the Consulate General in Sydney to commemorate the “Dirk Hartog Year,” readers are invited to visit the official “Dirk Hartog 2016” website.
Embassy of Australia in the Netherlands: http://www.netherlands.embassy.gov.au/
