78 NORTHMOST AUSTRALIA 



The cartographer's comment on Asschens is most severe, and, 

 I think, unjust : 



" Of the proceedings of ' Stuurman ' Lavienne Lodewijk Asschens (who had 

 command of the barquentine ' Z?wz/V), the Undersigned can give no account deserving 

 of consideration, while his reports or notes are so misleading that it is clear at the 

 first glance that he can never have had any first-hand knowledge or ocular view of 

 the matters referred to by him, seeing that he has hardly ever been nearer to the 

 land than 3 miles off, at which distance, however, he pretends to have seen a river 

 with an island before its mouth, as well as men, huts, etc. : all which seems to the 

 Undersigned impossible on a flat land, such as this is. Nor has he made any landing 

 on the said coast, although, contrary to Your Worships' orders, he had sailed along 

 it from S. to N. for 40 miles before the misfortune of the loss of the boat befel, as 

 Your Worships may gather from the annexed rough sketch of the coast sent in by 

 him." l 



Asschens certainly began by mistaking Pera Head for Cape 

 Keerweer, but, with the exception of this mistake, his description 

 can easily be followed on, and agrees with, accurate modern charts. 

 It must be remembered that his description is only known to us 

 from a paraphrase of it made by a very unfavourably impressed 

 (shall we say, prejudiced ?) official. He correctly identified 

 Tasman's Vliege Baij (Albatross Bay) and gave the name of Asschen's 

 Hoek to what is now called Duyfken Point. He noted the estuary 

 now called Port Musgrave, which he named the BATAVIA REVIER.' 

 Lastly, he correctly located himself abreast of the VAN SPULT 

 RIVER before leaving Australia. 



THE "RIJDER" (GONZAL) 



After losing sight of her consort, the " Buijs" off Banda, on 

 26th March, 1756, and unaware that she had found shelter, the 

 " RIJDER," having weathered the storm, continued her voyage, and 

 reached FALSE CAPE, the westmost point of Frederick Henry Island, 

 Papua, on 4th April. (SEE MAP A.) " The HIGH LAND OF CAR- 

 PENTARIA, known by the name of HOOG EIJLAND," was sighted on 

 iQth April. This " high land " was, no doubt, HAMMOND and 

 PRINCE OF WALES ISLANDS. A reef (the Gerard and Larpent 

 Banks) was observed to extend from the high land nearly to a 

 hitherto uncharted island, which was named RIJDER'S ISLAND, and 

 which must have been BOOBY ISLAND. Possibly the ship's course 

 lay between the reef and the island. In making cautiously for 

 the coast, the " Rijder " apparently approached PRINCE OF WALES 

 ISLAND near its north-western corner, where a first LANDING was 

 made on ijth April. Only one NATIVE was seen, and he fled on the 

 approach of the boat's crew, who noted bark huts, a bark canoe, 



1 Heeres says : " I have not met with this chart." 



2 Tasman, who was probably misled by the " specially prepared " chart with which 

 he was provided, had named it the Staeten Revier, under the impression that it was 

 the Staten Revier of Carstenszoon. 



