9 Exmouth: Barque Stefano

Driven to cannibalism, the two were finally adopted by a nomadic aboriginal band, and joined their rescuers' relentless search for food. Initially fearful of these ``barbarians,'' Baccich grew impressed with their innumerable acts of kindness, gentle ways and harmony with nature. He and Jurich were rescued by an English cutter in April 1876. Their story--first set down by a Jesuit scholar that year, and here fleshed out with new source material gathered by Rathe, who recasts the tale in crystalline modern prose--is a marvelous Conradian journey into the heart of darkness, a haunting parable on race relations and a challenge to our preconceptions about ``civilized'' versus ``primitive'' behavior. In an epilogue, Rathe tracks the fates of Jurich, who was murdered by the Nazis, and of Baccich, who settled in New Orleans. Embellished by sketches, maps and photographs (many in color), this memorable adventure story combines high drama and insight into the human condition.

As an element of this confidential development the NASS Research Centre and BSYF have:
(i) Gathered a community of specialists, renowned artists, image-makers, leading academics, educationalist, indigenous managers and elders, pastoralist, conservationists and marine scientists who wish to contribute to this project.
(ii) Established a network of institutional collaborators and stakeholders at the highest level of research and innovation in Australia and overseas
(iii) Carried out a series of forums, conferences, colloquiums, publications and film festivals to publicize its activities among potential participants in Australia and overseas (from Zanzibar to Dubrovnik).
The preparation stage of this development is now close to completion and the BARQUE STEFANO CYBER-TRAIL team is inviting regional and state organizations to join us on this prestigious and unique undertaking.
Rationale
The Barque Stefano CYBER-TRAIL will be a significant cultural and reconciliation monument in cyberspace for and on behalf of Indigenous people of the North West Australia in perpetuity. It is expected that the CYBER-TRAIL will be a unifying platform for all Aboriginal people and for Aboriginal groups of the North West Australia in particular.
The Barque Stefano CYBER-TRAIL will have a global reach. In cyberspace the Cyber-Trail will be constructed by convergent, accumulative and interactive media formats made up of the barque Stefano shipwreck information, stories, texts, images, sounds, Aboriginal song lines, music, movies, 3D experiential immersions, various data banks, and apps of all kind.
As a significant cultural cyber monument the Barque Stefano CYBER-TRAIL is expected to draw national and international attention and contribute greatly to the culture and economy of the North West region from Carnarvon to Roebourne along with national and international connections and offshoots in Fremantle, Exmouth, Onslow, Roebourne, Indian Ocean rim countries, Dalmatian coast, New Orleans, Black Sea, Cardiff, UK, to name a few.
The Barque Stefano CYBER-TRAIL will do this by being unique from inception.
The most valuable element of the CYBER-TRAIL will be its ability to attract interesting national and international contributors. The CYBER-TRAIL will invite and facilitate contributions from world cyber specialists, artists, writers, performers and thinkers. The strong memberships of the NASS Research Centre and BSYF already has many such contributors. Accordingly the CYBER-TRAIL will be both an archive and a creative work.
Another valuable element of the Barque Stefano CYBER-TRAIL will be its ability to attract real-time activities such as film festivals, popular culture forums, research conferences, and innovative performances by musicians, artists, dancers and actors.
The Barque Stefano CYBER-TRAIL is expected to grow and develop as a living CYBER-TRAIL archive. It will be capable to evolve into new forms of interaction with its global users
The Barque Stefano CYBER-TRAIL project will be based on a sustainable business model that cannot be appropriated, commissioned or sold off. Each contributor will be a shareholder in the project and can withdraw their contribution at any time. The governance will be rigorous, democratic and transparent with a built-in maintenance regime.
Indigenous and other groups will be able to benefit from mobile CYBER-TRAIL guides and related material (books, artwork, forums, etc).
With the confidential stage of development now complete the CYBER-TRAIL will unfold according to the following sequential development:
Cyber-Trail Website
Cyber-Trail Educational Platform
Cyber-Trail Mobile Hyper-Text
Cyber-Trail Creative And Festive Initiatives
Cyber-Trail Virtual Reality, Appsand AI Archive
Prospective partners from funding organizations are now invited to join this exciting and unique development.
Enquiries and EOI should be directed to the NASS Director, Dr Josko Petkovic and the BSYF Secretary Lyn Sutton

After being taken to Fremantle the two raised funds to take gifts back to their rescuers. You can read about this incredible rescue story in many published books and articles. As well as accounts from the survivors about what the learned from their rescuers, language, tools, and structure of the tribe.

They were the first of many sailors who sailed past the Cape and sighted land but did not stop there. The English first sighted the Cape in 1620. From then on they began using what they called Cloates Island (Point Cloates) as a navigation aid in their voyages north. A Dutchman, Willem de Vlamingh, visited the North West Cape in 1696 and Vlamingh Head Lighthouse was later named after him.

So begins what is, arguably, the most poignant story ever written about indigenous Australians. For the next three months the two castaways were nursed to health by two North West tribes who led them, in time, to the tip of the North West Cape where they were discovered and picked up, on 18 April 1876, by Captain Charles Tuckey of Mandurah in his pearling cutter Jessie.

The VOC also used the terms retourschip (for large vessels like the Batavia) and jacht (for smaller ships like the Vergulde Draeck). Though there were differences, contemporary vessels like the EEIC ship Trial are expected to have been similar in appearance to their Dutch counterparts. By the end of the 18th century, vessels were also being classified according to their rig, rather than their hull form, and this method has continued to the present day. Some of the more common types (brig, barque, schooner) appear in this list and are presented here in silhouette form for ease of understanding. The largest sailing vessels on this coast were found with four masts, and early steamers also carried sails. An example is the two-masted schooner-rigged SS Georgette. In cases where a vessel had a long career, its rig could have been changed during its working life. Carlisle Castle for example was first a ship and then a barque and SS Omeo had its engine removed to become a four-masted sailing barque.