Batavia Road is an anchorage, or roadstead, in the Pelsaert Group of the Houtman Abrolhos, off the coast of Western Australia.
[2] It was discovered and named in April 1840 by John Clements Wickham, captain of HMS Beagle.
Wickham's assistant John Lort Stokes later wrote: "On the south west point of the island the beams of a large vessel were discovered, and as the crew of the Zeewyk, lost in 1728 [sic], reported having seen the wreck of a ship on this part, there is little doubt that the remains were those of the Batavia, Commodore Pelsart, lost in 1627.
"[3]In fact the Batavia was wrecked in the Wallabi Group, 60 kilometres (40 mi) to the north.
Stokes' erroneous view was accepted without question for over fifty years,[5] and it has been claimed that the confusion caused the discovery of the Batavia shipwreck to be set back by over a century.