Page 19 - Loss of the VOC Retourschip Batavia, Western Australia, 1629

Figure 6. A lifting sheerlegs on Beacon Island being used to lift the composite CBnIlon off Ihe
portable trolley.
Tbe racilities
Beacon Island was to be the base for the excavation,
and here a small house was constructed to accommodate six people, with a workshop, storage shed and a small darkroom built nearby. A 1.5 kw diesel generator was used to provide lighting, and to operate power tools, an arc welder and a freezer. A stand-by 0.75 kw petrol generator was available in case of breakdown of the main unit. As there was no fresh water available on !he island, three large catchment tanks with a total capacity of 10,000 liues were used to collect rainwater from the roofs of the buildings in the winter rainy season. Since the excavation seasons took place in the rainless summer, water restrictions were necessary.
A jetty was built from !he north-east end of !he island, next to !he field station, out to a deep-water passage. This allowed the large workboat to unload directly onto the island, and enabled the island supply boat and other big vessels to come alongside to be loaded with heavy mate· rial. To this end. a davit wi!h a lifting capacity ofaboutO.5 tonne was constructed on the end of the jetty for loading and unloading from the boats. Radio communications were established with the mainland coastal radio stations, andmessagescouldbesentei!herastelegramson!hesmall ships' frequencies or via a radio telephone frequency link with Perth.
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