The Dutch East Indiaman 'De Vergulde Draeck' (Gilt Dragon) of 260 tonnes, measuring 137.3 feet in length and beam of 32.0 feet left Texel in Holland on 4th Oct 1655 under the command of Pieter Albertsz with 193 people aboard and a valuable cargo of pieces of eight, mainly from the Mexican mint and a cargo of trade goods worth an estimated 106400 Guilders. The sailing conditions were good and the crew and passengers were in good health, so the ship stayed only a short while in Capetown.

Following the Brouwers route they left The Cape of Good Hope with the intention of using the trade winds to traverse the 5000 miles of Indian Ocean before turning north for Java. Again the poor navigation practices with regard to Longitude caused the ship to be much closer to the Australian coast than the Captain reckoned. Consequently on the 28th April 1656 he drove hard onto a reef near 'Ledge Point' Cape Leschenault, which is located near Moore River just north of Perth WA. The ship split open under the impact and sank immediately, many of those on board were drowned in their bunks below decks. Only 75 survivors including the Captain, reached land in 2 boats with fresh water and some provisions. A small party was sent to Batavia to report the wreck and 2 rescue boats were dispatched back to the site to help the survivors, but they failed to find anyone and returned to Batavia. The following year other attempts were made without success, but they did in fact find the original campsite and items of wreckage.

In 1931 A. Edwards discovered 40 silver coins in sand hills just north of Cape Leschenault, however the wreck was not found until 14th April 1863 by a group of spear-fishermen. Not much was visible except for a cannon and anchors and some yellow bricks. The site was looted by divers over the period to early 1972 when a full expedition was mounted to excavate the the remains of the cargo and the vessels structure. Little remained, but over several months many artefacts such as the 'Beardman Jug' and the brass mortar pictured, were recovered along with clay pipes, bronze & brass utensils, a toolbox, glass bottles and various armaments.

Seen right are some coins, clay pipes, an astrolabe and various jugs after treatment to remove growth, salt and other sedimentary compounds built up over the years.

The resting place is located on a reef 12 kilometres S-S-West of Ledge Point Western Australia, 5.6 kilometres west of the main coastline. Maybe in time more will be recovered from the wreck site. Yet another very significant event in early Australian history.