62 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



The voyage which mainly concerns us is that of 1644. The 

 INSTRUCTIONS l of the Governor- General and Council of the Dutch 

 East India Company were drawn up at Batavia on I3th January, 

 1644, and were signed by Antonie Van Diemen, Cornells Van Der 

 Lijn (Director-General), Joan Maetsuijker, Justus Schouten 

 (" Councillor-Extraordinary to the present assembly "), Salomon 

 Sweers, and Pieter Metschagh (Secretary). 



The ships employed in the expedition were the yachts 

 " Limmen " and " Zeemeeuw " and the galiot " Bracq" and their 

 respective complements were : 



" Limmen " . . . 45 sailors, 1 1 soldiers = 56 

 "7,eemeeuw". . . 35 6 = 41 

 "Bracq" ... 14 =14 



Total . . . . . . .in 



From the instructions and a list of members of the Full Council, 

 we gather how each of the ships was officered : 



Limmen. Commander and Skipper, Abel Janszoon Tasman. 

 Assistant Skipper, Pilot-Major Francois Jacobszoon Visscher. 

 Mate, Crin Hendrikszoon. Trader (Assistant Supercargo), Counsel 

 and Secretary, Anthonio Blauw. 



" Zeemeeuw" Skipper, Dirck Corneliszoon Haen. Super- 

 cargo, Isaac Gilesemans. Mate, Carsten Jeuraenszoon. 



" Bracq" Skipper, Jasper Janszoon Koos. Mate, Cornelis 

 Robel. 



When matters concerning navigation were to be discussed in 

 the FULL COUNCIL, the second mates were to be called in. Councils 

 of individual ships were to consist of the officers, to whom were to be 

 added the Assistant Supercargoes or book-keepers and the master- 

 boatswains. The minutes of the Full Council were to be made out 

 in triplicate. 



The fleet left BATAVIA on 3oth January, and returned to that 

 port on loth August, 1644. 



The SAILING ORDERS began with a preamble recapitulating the 

 achievements of previous navigators in the region to be visited, and 

 to this narrative we are indebted, inter alia, in default of the 

 " Duyjken's " journal and charts, for some of our scanty information 

 regarding her disastrous pioneering voyage along the coast of the 

 Cape York Peninsula. 



The orders were first to go to Banda and there to take in water 

 and firewood and to obtain such information regarding " New 



1 Printed in Dalrymple's Collections concerning Papua, in Major's Early Voyages, 

 in Heeres' Life of Tasman and (partly) in Heeres' Part borne by the Dutch, etc. 



