Balayi-Open Your Eyes! Houtman 400 Festival 20th, 27-28th July 2019

watch out! open your eyes to two cultures, two different perspectives, a dutch discovery viewed from the ocean, a first nations people view from the land. a shared night sky. the festival delves into the history of the dutch discovery of the houtman abrolhos islands and the southwest coast of western australia (safety bay) and the culture of the first nations people whose land they spied. frederick de houtman of the dutch east india company (voc) with voc councillor of the indies jacob d’edel sailed into unchartered waters in july 1619 on their voyage to batavia (jakarta). sea charts were changed and the ‘beach’, the fabled great southern land was identified as one uninterrupted mainland coast, a significant discovery well before lt. james cook laid eyes on botany bay in 1770. 20th july 2019 rockingham 27th & 28th july 2019 geraldton