Most of the 316 passengers and crew of the Dutch East India Company ship were washed ashore on the smaller islands on the eastern side of the Wallabi Group.

The commander, Francisco Pelsaert, and 47 other crew and passengers set off in one the longboats in search of water but ended up sailing to Indonesia.

Crayfisherman arrived on the island sometime afterward and established several galvanised iron and asbestos shacks along with sheds for gear on four main sites.

[1] In 2014, buildings and structures were removed from the island to restore it to a state of wilderness as part of an effort to protect Batavia heritage.

[2] The island is part of the Houtman Abrolhos Important Bird Area, identified as such by BirdLife International because it supports large numbers of breeding seabirds.