On 22 May 1626 sailed from the
Netherlands under the command of Francois Thijssen (sometimes recorded as Thijszoon and Thyssen). Also on board was
Pieter Nuyts, extraordinary member of the Dutch East India Company's Council of India, their executive body in the
East Indies. It appears that in January 1627 the vessel encountered Australia in the vicinity of Cape Leeuwin. Instead of turning north to make for
Batavia, as required by Dutch ships of this period, following what is known as the
Brouwer Route, it continued along the south coast of Australia for a distance of . They reached
St Francis and
St Peter Islands in what is now known as the Nuyts Archipelago, off
Ceduna in South Australia. Thijssen mapped the coastline around
Fowlers Bay. It has been assumed that one of the trees that was examined during the transit across the south coast of what is now Western Australia was the
Christmas tree (Nuytsia floribunda). The South Australian coast has also been recognized as a point of contact. What transpired during this part of the voyage is not known in detail as no log survives. The principal evidence consists of contemporary maps, a brief reference to the voyage in the daily register at Batavia for 1627, and in instructions to Gerrit Thomaszoon Pool in 1636 and
Abel Tasman in 1644. reached Batavia on 10 April 1627. Records indicate that 30 men died during the voyage. The region they encountered became known as
Nuyts Land. Nuyts had also been on board which sighted and named Cape Leeuwin in 1622. According to the Landings List compiled by the
Australia on the Map Division of the
Australasian Hydrographic Society, was the 13th recorded European contact with Australia. ==References==