Gilt Dragon, also called Vergulde Draeck, was a Dutch vessel belonging to the Dutch East India Company, a powerful trading company that operated during the 1600’s and 1700’s. While on only its second voyage, the 137-foot (42-meter) craft was wrecked on April 28, 1656, at Ledge Point off the western coast of Australia. The ship was bound from the Netherlands to Batavia (now Jakarta, Indonesia). It had been carrying goods for trading, including lead ingots, ivory, and building bricks, and eight chests containing 40,000 silver bullion coins. As the Gilt Dragon sank, only 75 of the crew of 193 made it ashore. Within a few days, seven men sailed to Java in a small boat for help. They arrived at Batavia on June 7 in a starved condition. Two vessels set out immediately to rescue the marooned people. But they found nothing. Two ships sent out in 1658 located some wreckage but no crew members. No sign of the other 68 survivors from the wreck has ever been found.
The wreck of the Gilt Dragon was discovered in 1963 at the bottom of an undersea cliff by a group of men who were spearfishing. However, no official excavation of the wreck was undertaken until 1972. By the time this excavation began, the Gilt Dragon had been looted for valuables. Some of the trade goods, some personal effects of crew members, and about 20 percent of the silver have been officially recovered from the wreck.
