“Batavia’s Graveyard” – Beacon Island

In 2015, archaeologists uncovered the remains of previously unknown Batavia victims on Beacon Island, part of the Abrolhos group. Alongside the burials were small personal items—likely carried in pockets—that are among the earliest known belongings of European people in Australia.

At one site, fragments of a simple hair comb were found. At another, three musket balls lay with the remains, hinting at the violent events that claimed so many lives here during the Batavia mutiny of 1629. These intimate objects provide a direct, human connection to one of the most infamous shipwreck stories in Australian history.