ANCODS
| Agreement between Australia and the Netherlands Concerning Old Dutch Shipwrecks | |
|---|---|
| Signed | 6 November 1972 |
| Location | The Hague, Netherlands |
| Signatories |
 Australia Netherlands
|
| Languages | Dutch, English |
The Australian Netherlands Committee on Old Dutch Shipwrecks (ANCODS) is an organization tasked with maintaining and allocating artefacts from 17th and 18th century Dutch shipwrecks off the coast of Western Australia. It was founded in 1972 by the Agreement between Australia and the Netherlands Concerning Old Dutch Shipwrecks.
Development of ANCODS began with the discovery of four Dutch East India Company ships off the coast of Western Australia in the 1950s–1960s.
In 1712, Zuytdorp struck the cliffs 60 km north of the mouth of the Murchison River. It was the only wreck of the four from which no survivors returned to Batavia (modern day Jakarta). Some evidence exists of survivors reaching the top of the cliffs, but it is unclear what exactly transpired. Zuytdorp remained where it sank until the location of the wreck was publicized by the local press in the 1930s, although rumours of its existence had been previously circulated in 1927. It was not until 1958 that the wreckage was confirmed as that of the Zuytdorp by Philip Playford. The Western Australian Museum (WAM) carried out archaeological investigations of both the underwater site and the associated survivor camp from 1974 until the late 1990s. The Zuytdorp Nature Reserve was formed in 1992 to protect the wreck. As a result, diving is prohibited in the waters surrounding the wreck. WAM currently has 1300 artefacts in the ANCODS Collection for the site.
Wrecked in 1656 south of Ledge Point, Western Australia, the Vergulde Draeck (or Gilt Dragon, as it is more commonly known) was the first to be relocated during the 1950–1960s. However, Alan Robinson, who claimed to have discovered the vessel, could not remember where the wreck was originally located. Artefacts were then collected on 14 April 1963 when a spear fishing group stumbled across them. James, Alan, Graeme Henderson, and John Cowan, members of the spear fishing group that discovered site, offered their rights to the site to the WAM. However the last member of the group, Alan Robinson, did not. WAM accepted the rights. However, looters used explosives to breach the vessel and search for valuable artefacts, mainly coins. Due to looting, the nature of the seabed and occasional severe storms, the site is spread over a 40x50 m area on a reef and is very difficult to locate. Jeremy Green and staff from WAM recovered artefacts from the wreck in archaeological seasons between 1972 and 1983. The ANCODS collection currently includes large numbers of ballast bricks, clay pipes, stoneware, wooden and metal fragments as well as elephant tusks, leather shoes and coin-, eight hundred of which are in the custody of the Money Museum in Utrecht.
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