Wiebbe Hayes Fort, Abrolhos Islands, Western Australia: Construction of the Oldest European Building in Australia

The Batavia shipwreck on the Wallabi Group Islands off the coast of Western Australia in the winter of 1629 marks the bloodiest chapter in the earliest European history of Australia – mutiny, murder, rescue and executions. The remains of a defensive stone structure on West Wallabi Island known as the Wiebbe Hayes Fort forms part of the Batavia story and is recognised as the oldest European building constructed in Australia. It was built in July 1629 and occupied until September of that year by a group of VOC soldiers led by Wiebbe Hayes and was instrumental in repelling four attacks from mutineers. Jointed hard calcrete (a type of limestone that probably formed in soil during the late Pleistocene sea-level low stand) on the land surface facilitated the construction of the fort which was situated close to gnamma holes that provided drinking water. A second inland structure of similar construction next to a groundwater well is shown to be incorrectly associated with the Batavia. It was constructed by guano miners in the mid-19th century.