A replica of the Dutch ship Duyfken (Little Dove), has embarked on a year-long voyage to retrace the footsteps of the sailors of the first European ship to visit Australia. In 1606 the Duyfken sailed in search of gold and trade opportunities on the island of Nova Guinea from the Indonesian island of Banda. The crew charted part of the coast of Nova Guinea, but instead of finding gold they discovered the Northern coast of Australia.

The 20-metre replica, built in Fremantle, Western Australia, sailed for the first time in 1999 and cost 3.7m Australian dollars (£1.5m) to build. The current journey is part of the Dutch and Australian celebrations marking the events of 1606, and is intended to give visitors ‘a deep appreciation of history in the raw and the courage and skills of 17th century seafaring explorers’.