Holland offers SA wreck help, but it’s going Dutch
● The Netherlands says it is willing to help SA identify possible artefacts of a 372-yearold Dutch wreck in Table Bay, but insists Dutch ships remain the property of the Netherlands — even if they have been underwater for more than three centuries.
The Dutch offer, which could involve financial backing, follows last month’s announcement by archaeologist Bruno Werz that he is “95% sure” he has found the wreck of De Haarlem, a former Dutch East India Company ship that ran aground in 1647, a few years before the arrival in the Cape of Jan van Riebeeck.
About half of the ship’s crew spent a year camping on the beach near Blouberg. Their favourable report upon returning home is believed to have motivated the Dutch to settle permanently at the foot of Table Mountain.
The Dutch government now says it wants to help Werz study the wreck site as part of a broader programme to assist SA’s marine archaeology programme.
“We are aware of the De Haarlem wreck and the work of Bruno Werz, and the Netherlands have been interested in making the work around the wreck a collaborative joint project, including a training component,” said Claude van Wyk, senior policy adviser on economic, political and cultural affairs at the Netherlands consulate in Cape Town. Although the Dutch government lays claim to all Dutch East India Company wrecks, the move is aimed at unlocking history, not possible treasure chests, he said. “We claim that wrecks of sovereign ships of the Netherlands are still owned by the Netherlands. Among them are the wrecks of [Dutch East India Company] ships discovered around the world, but this doesn’t necessarily mean we want to repatriate everything back to the Netherlands. Our primary aim is that they are being well managed.
“With reference to the new finding or discoveries around De Haarlem, the [Netherlands] Cultural Heritage Agency is willing to assist in the proper archaeological investigation into whether artefacts or objects belong to De Haarlem, as the story is fascinating and considered very important to South African history and bilateral relations between our two states.”
Werz’s 30-year search, involving numerous trips to state archives in Cape Town and the Netherlands, has garnered praise from the South African Heritage Resource Agency, which is considering his application for a full excavation permit.