Peter Hedland

Captain Peter Hedland (aka Headland) (? - 1881) was a 19th-century seafarer, explorer, pearling captain, and the master of the 16 ton cutter Mystery.

He is credited with having explored the harbour of current day Port Hedland, Western Australia and originally named it Mangrove Harbour. Subsequently it was renamed Port Hedland, named in honour of the explorer. Captain Hedland was associated with the earliest settlement in the North and with the pearling industry

Life and voyages

It is often claimed that Captain Hedland was of Dutch origin but his living relatives in Western Australia say he was Swedish.

In 1863, Captain Hedland discovered Butcher's inlet (named after the harbour master at Albany, later called Tien Tsin and then, Cossack).^[1]

In April 1863, Captain Peter Hedland ran his ship, the Mystery, aground in what now is known as Port Hedland, as he searched for a suitable location for a port for the Pilbara’s expanding pastoral industry^[2]

As Master of the cutter Mystery, a boat that he himself built, at Point Walter on the banks of the Swan River, Captain Hedland explored the coast of Australia while shipping cargo for the pastoralists from 1863 onwards. Though he did not actually discover Port Hedland (The town had already been discovered by Europeans in 1628.^[3] Records state that a number of Dutch vessels bound for Batavia sailed too far south and found the Australian coast instead.^[4] In 1616 Dirk Hartog passed through the area and in 1628 the Vyanen, commanded by Gerrit Frederikssoon De Witt, ran aground just west of the present site of Port Hedland), he is credited to have explored and documented the port extensively during his voyages from 1863 onwards ^[5]

Peter Hedland operated his small ship, named Mystery, along the North West coast of Australia and made frequent journeys to Fremantle to collect supplies for the pastoralists. He is said to have been a vital lifeline for the early settlerson the north west coast.^[6]

Death

According to a report of the Brisbane Courier of 8 November 1881:^[7] The remains of Peter Headland and his companions have been found on an island to the east-wark of Roebuck Bay. There are evidence to show that after the brutal murder of these men, the natives sank the schooner and escaped to the mainland in the dingy.

Mystery surrounds his death since his body was never found. However, it is thought that he was speared to death by Aboriginals near the Nichol (today spelled as Nikol) River. He was survived by his wife and 11 children.

Legacy

• The town and port called Port Hedland was named after Captain Peter Hedland, who explored the entrance to the shallow bay in June 1863 by the surveyor general.^[8][9]

External links

1. Western Australia - Now and then
2. Port Hedland Visitors Center
3. Government of Western Australia

References

1. "Discovery of the Pilbara region". Australia Now and Then. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
2. "History of Port Hedland" (PDF). Port Hedland Visitor Center. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
3. "History of Port Hedland". Port Hedland Visitors Center. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
4. "The Voyages of Gerrit Frederikssoon De Witt". Australia Now And Then. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
5. "History of Port Hedland". Prospectors Patch. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
6. "Port Hedland". Western Australia - Now And Then. http://www.wanowandthen.com. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
7. "Remains of Captain Hedland found". Brisbane Courier. 8 November 1881. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
8. "History of the town of Port Hedland". Government of Port Hedland. Retrieved 22 August 2013.
9. Doing Australia's West Coast. Little Hills Press.