A major maritime discovery has brought to light a remarkable episode in Dutch-Australian history. In March 2025, after more than 160 years hidden beneath the shifting sands of Long Beach near Robe, South Australia, the wreck of the Koning Willem de Tweede was found. The Dutch merchant ship had sunk in a violent storm in 1857 after transporting over 400 Chinese miners to Australia during the height of the gold rush.
The long walk from Robe
In the 1850s, the Victorian government imposed a £10 poll tax on Chinese immigrants landing directly in its ports. To avoid this fee, thousands of Chinese migrants took a detour: they landed at Robe in South Australia, then walked more than 400 kilometres to the Victorian goldfields. Between 1856 and 1857 alone, more than 15,000 made this journey. Dutch ships, including the Koning Willem de Tweede, played a key role in transporting these passengers, often sailing from Hong Kong or ports in the Dutch East Indies.
This strategy formed a significant, if often overlooked, chapter in Australia’s multicultural history. The Robe route not only speaks to Chinese resilience but also to the opportunism of international shipping companies, including the Dutch, who capitalised on the demand.
A Dutch ship in a colonial network
The Koning Willem de Tweede was part of a global maritime trade system in which the Netherlands was deeply embedded. Dutch shipping companies such as the Vereenigde Nederlandsche Scheepvaartmaatschappij (VNS) and earlier ventures operated routes between Europe, the Dutch East Indies, and Australia. By the mid-19th century, Dutch ships were transporting not only goods but also migrants from Asia—including Chinese labourers fleeing hardship or persecution—through Batavia and Hong Kong to Australia’s southern ports.
The wreck now serves as a rare and tangible artefact of Dutch-Australian maritime heritage, at a time when British shipping tends to dominate public memory.
Disaster at sea
After arriving at Robe and disembarking the migrants on 16 June 1857, the Koning Willem de Tweede remained anchored in Guichen Bay, unable to depart due to persistent rough weather. On 30 June, a severe storm broke, dragging the ship’s anchors and forcing Captain Hindrik Remmelt Giezen to attempt to run her ashore. Within half an hour, the 800-ton vessel began to break apart.
The rescue effort was dramatic and tragic. Sixteen sailors drowned when one of the ship’s boats capsized. Only nine men survived. Captain Giezen was among them, tying a rope to a cask and letting it drift ashore before being pulled through the surf himself.
An Aboriginal man from Encounter Bay attempted to swim out with a breeches buoy to establish a rescue line. Though unsuccessful, his courage stands as a largely unacknowledged act of heroism—one of many examples of Indigenous involvement in early maritime rescues.
Rediscovery after 168 years
The Koning Willem de Tweede remained hidden until archival clues and modern marine surveying helped maritime archaeologist Dr James Hunter and his team locate it in 2025. Searching in poor visibility, Hunter reportedly “nearly rammed [his] face into the windlass,” a key part of the wreck still lying intact on the seafloor.
The discovery is the first confirmed wreck of a ship known to have brought Chinese migrants to Australia during the gold rush, and it has opened new avenues for understanding Dutch contributions to Australia’s migration story.
A shared history beneath the waves
This story connects Dutch maritime enterprise, Chinese migration, and Aboriginal heroism in a single historic event. It reflects how global, colonial, and local forces converged in unexpected ways along Australia’s southern coast. The wreck of the Koning Willem de Tweede is more than a shipwreck—it is a symbol of a layered and shared history that the DACC is proud to help illuminate.
The Koning Willem de Tweede Shipwreck Project received support from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, facilitated through the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Australia, and the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands.
