34 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



JAN CARSTENSZOON, " Opper Coopman " (Upper merchant, or 

 trader or SUPERCARGO) on the " Pera" acted as COMMODORE of the 

 expedition. The ASSISTANT SUPERCARGO of the " Pera " was 

 PIETER LINGTES or LINTIENS. The SKIPPER was JAN SLUIJS. The 

 UPPER STEERSMAN (Chief Mate) was AREND MARTENSZOONDELEEUW, 

 and the UNDER STEERSMAN (Second Mate) was WILLEM JOOSTEN 

 VAN COOLSTEERDT, who was made skipper of the " Aernem " on the 

 death of Meliszoon, the original master (loth February, 1623). 

 The number of the crew is nowhere stated, but at any rate it was 

 large enough to furnish a boat's crew of thirteen men on occasion. 

 A CARPENTER and an " ASSISTANT " are referred to, but it is not clear 

 whether the latter was the carpenter's apprentice or a midshipman. 

 A CORPORAL and TEN MUSKETEERS are mentioned, but it is doubtful 

 whether these were marines or sailors armed for the occasion. 

 There was also a BARBER-SURGEON, and a " JUREBASS," who was an 

 expert swimmer and who died of liver complaint or of the opera- 

 tion performed by the barber. Stoffel is unable to give an English 

 equivalent for " jurebass " and no more can I, nor can any Dutchman 

 whom I have had an opportunity of consulting. We must, there- 

 fore, for the present be content to define a Jurebass as "a person 

 who performs jurebassial functions." My conjecture wavers 

 between a slave, prisoner, convict or hostage on the one hand and 

 a lent or temporarily impressed local pilot on the other. 



The " Aernem " set out on the voyage under command of 

 DIRK MELISZOON, assisted by an unnamed FIRST MATE and a SECOND 

 MATE named JAN JANSZOON. On loth February, 1623, Meliszoon 

 was killed by natives of New Guinea, together with an " assistant " 

 (midshipman ?) named JAN WILLEMSZOON VAN DEN BRIEL and eight 

 others. After this disaster, VAN COOLSTEERDT, second mate of the 

 " Pera" was given command of the " Aernem" and JANSZOON, the 

 " Aernem 's " second mate, was made FIRST MATE. 



It is beyond the scope of this study .to follow the fortunes of 

 the expedition except in so far as they are connected with the 

 Cape York Peninsula, but it may be mentioned that the " Pera's " 

 officers completed their voyage under the mistaken impression that 

 they had demonstrated the CONTINUITY OF CERAM AND NEW 

 GUINEA, although pre-existing maps showed this stretch of land 

 to be divided into a chain of islands. When DE LEEUW evidently 

 some time after the voyage drew his famous sketch-chart, he must 

 have been satisfied of the error of this conclusion, as he showed the 

 islands. The expedition abandoned the search for the alleged 

 opening now known as TORRES STRAIT, believing that it DID NOT 

 EXIST, and coasted Australia for eight degrees southward, having 

 failed to realise that New Guinea was a distinct island. On the 

 other hand, they furnished the earliest account of a portion of 

 Australia and added materially to the knowledge of New Guinea. 



