30th June 2023 marks the 166th anniversary of the grounding of the 800-ton Dutch barque Koning Willem II in Guichen Bay in 1857. The vessel sank on Long Beach, 5km east of Robe with the loss of 15 (or 16) crew members (Most records say 16, but Captain HR Giezen was rescued).
The coastline at Robe with Long Beach in the background
397 Chinese (immigrants?) were landed prior to the loss. The Robe History Group installed a memorial in 2020, with a plaque listing the names of the Captain and 15 crew (Captain Giezen’s name is at the top of the list, but he survived). The 15 crew consisted of the 2nd & 3rd Mate, the Head Carpenter, the Sailmaker, the Chef Kitchen, the Boatman’s Mate, 7 sailors and two-12-year old apprentices. Unfortunately, the plaque on the memorial states the name of L.Draper, the Head Carpenter as “L.DraperHead – Head Carpenter”.
(There has been (is?) some confusion over the name of the vessel. As a Dutch vessel, it is called Koning Willem II, but the German name of Koenig Wilhelm II is often used. There has even been a combination of the two i.e. ‘Koenig Willem’. Another name that has been used is ‘Koneng Willem II’.)
Part of the coastline at Robe
A total of three shipwrecks occurred at Robe in 1857, the Koning Willem II, the Phaeton and the Sultana. All three were bringing Chinese people to the Victorian goldfields. Fortunately, there were no casualties other than the crew of the Koning Willem II.
Robe was proclaimed a port in 1847. An estimated 16,500 Chinese ‘migrants’ landed there to commence the 300-400km or more walk to the Victorian goldfields rather than having to pay the £10 Victorian landing (poll) tax. I say ‘migrants’ because it is not certain that they all came here to stay. There is a memorial to the Chinese on the foreshore at Robe.
The Koning Willem II is said to have been sold and dismantled. Some of it still remains as part of the second floor for the Caledonian Inn in Robe. I say ‘part’ because timber salvaged from the Phaeton was also used for the flooring.
According to the Culture and Heritage Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Canberra on LinkedIn, “The Koning Willem II Shipwreck Project has begun! The Embassy in Canberra is thrilled one of our 2021 International Heritage Co-operation projects in on its way. Between 20 and 25 April, maritime archaeologist James Hunter (Australian National Maritime Museum) and maritime archaeological conservator Heather Berry (Silentworld Foundation) visited Robe, South Australia, to meet the local community and lay the groundwork for a remote sensing survey to locate the wreck site ….. During their visit, James and Heather:
• Conducted a 3D photogrammetric survey of artefacts reportedly salvaged from Koning Willem II
• Advised the National Trust of South Australia (Robe Branch) how to best conserve archaeological objects in its possession
• Documented and assessed the National Trust’s unprovenanced shipwreck artefacts
• Performed a pedestrian survey of Guichen Bay’s shoreline in the area where Koning Willem II is thought to have wrecked.
They hosted a presentation to the Robe community covering Koning Willem II’s history, and discussed the project’s aims:
• To locate the shipwreck site
• To document privately- or publicly held cultural material previously recovered from it
• To provide conservation advice to assist future preservation”
There are lots of updates at Silentworld Foundation’s Facebook page.
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