Mauritius (1612)
Mauritius was an early 17th century Dutch wooden-hulled sailing ship, documented as being in service to the Dutch East India Company between 1618 and 1622.
History
1618 discoveries
On the 1618 voyage, the ship was commanded by Supercargo Willem Janszoon and captained by Lenaert Jacobszoon, when they sighted North West Cape in Western Australia on 31 July 1618. On that occasion they had believed that the mainland peninsular west of the Exmouth Gulf, was an island. They went ashore there and it is written that they discovered human footprints, as follows.1627 chart of Eendrachtsland
Mauritius is mentioned on the, which is a 1627 chart by Hessel Gerritsz and one of the earliest charts that shows Australia.Willems Rivier (1618) on the 1627 chart
On the 1618 voyage, the crew visited and partly mapped a river which was named. This river was most likely named after the commander of the ship Mauritius, Supercargo Willem Janszoon. The chart has annotation .Commander Willem Janszoon
The Commander of the ship Mauritius, Supercargo Willem Janszoon, was captain of Duyfken in 1605–1606, when part of the Gulf of Carpentaria was mapped, during that earliest documented visit to Australia by a vessel from Europe.Willems RivierAshburton River
The 1618 named Willem's River is believed to be the Ashburton River. The detail of the river's position on the chart backs up the claim that Willem's River is the Ashburton River, which, being at 21 degrees 40 minutes south and 114 degrees 56 east, is almost exactly the latitude shown on the chart and discussed in other writing.Eendrachtsland (1616) - Australia
The chart was based on a number of voyages, beginning with the 1616 voyage of Dirk Hartog. On that voyage Hartog named Eendrachtsland after his ship, meaning or. The name Eendrachtsland appeared on subsequent charts.''Mauritius'' reaches Bantam
The ship Mauritius reached its destination Bantam, Indonesia on 22 August 1618.Mauritius is mentioned in September 1622, as follows.