A team of Australian maritime archaeologists has discovered the wreck of the Dutch frigate Koning Willem de Tweede, which sank off the coast of South Australia in 1857 during a violent storm. The shipwreck was buried under shifting sands near the town of Robe and remained hidden for more than 160 years.
The Koning Willem de Tweede was a 42-meter-long ship built in 1840 in South Holland, originally named Erfprinses van Oranje before being renamed to honour King William II of the Netherlands. It was an 800-ton fully rigged vessel made mostly of oak, designed to carry both passengers and cargo.
In June 1857, the ship left Hong Kong carrying about 400 Chinese gold miners bound for the Victoria goldfields in Australia. After reaching Robe, the miners disembarked and were forced to walk around 400 kilometres to the mines because this landing avoided the high taxes charged by Victoria for direct
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