Editing Houtman Abrolhos (section)

===Wreck of ''Zeewijk''===
{{Main|Zeewijk}}
The {{ship||Zeewijk}} was the last of the four Dutch [[East Indiaman|East Indiamen]] to be wrecked on the west coast of Australia. Due to the Ship's Council having made the inexplicable decision to disregard sailing orders and actually seek out the west coast of Australia, the ship ran onto the Half Moon Reef at about 7:30&nbsp;pm on 9 June 1727. It did not break up immediately, and the heavy swell made evacuation impossible until 18 June. The [[longboat]] was launched on that day, and the crew and stores were thereafter gradually transferred to nearby [[Gun Island]]. Later, the men landed ten chests of money, containing 315,836 [[guilder]]s and weighing a total of {{convert|3|t|lb|spell=in}}.<ref name="Edwards 1970"/>

The crew of ''Zeewijk'' were stranded in the Pelsaert Group for ten months, during which time they lived off seals, seabirds, eggs, and victuals salvaged from the wreck. They obtained some water from rainfall, but were forced to explore throughout the group in search of further supplies. A great many men died on the islands, including two boys who were accused of [[sodomy]] and marooned on separate islands of the Mangrove Group.<ref name="Edwards 1970"/>

On 10 July the longboat, fitted for a voyage and crewed with eleven men, was sent to Batavia to obtain help. It never arrived there, and nothing is known of its fate. Four months later the castaways began building a {{convert|60|ft|m|adj=on|order=flip}} boat, sufficient to carry all the men and the money chests. Completed in March 1728 and affectionately named ''Sloepie'' ("little [[sloop]]"), it was the first ocean-going vessel built in Australian history. On 26 March 1728, the surviving men set sail for Batavia, arriving in [[Sunda Strait]] late the following month.<ref name="Edwards 1970"/>