Hartog, Dirckalso spelled Dirk Hartog or Dyrck Hartoochz  (
flourished 1616Dutch explorer who made the first recorded
exploration of the western coast of Australia.  Traveling an
eastward route from Amsterdam around the Cape of Good Hope to
Java, Hartog sighted and explored the western Australian
coastline. He landed (October 1616) and spent three days
exploring a desolate offshore island that he named for himself.
To mark his landing, he left a flattened pewter plate, inscribed
with the details of the visit, nailed on a post on the northern
end of the island, now called Cape Inscription. In 1696 another
Dutch explorer, Willem de Vlamingh, landed on Dirk Hartogs
Island, found Dirck’s Hartog’s plate, replaced it with a newly
inscribed dish, and sent the original to Amsterdam, where it can
now be seen in the Rijksmuseum.  Until the 19th century the
coast of Australia parallel to Dirk Hartogs Island was called
Eendrachtsland, in honour of the explorer’s ship, Eendracht.