An Australian plane wreck gives insight into a surreal landscape

It was the night of February 26, 1942, during World War II, when a Douglas C-53 Skytrooper, low on fuel and hopelessly lost, made a belly-flop landing on a salt pan in Vansittart Bay in a remote part of the Kimberley.

Douglas C-53 Skytrooper wreck from World War I, Vansittart Bay, Kimberley coast.Credit: iStockphoto

More than 80 years later the fuselage, wings and tail sit amid the pandanus palms like a prop from the television series Lost.

“The four crew and two passengers survived the wheels-up landing,” says our guide, Jesse Menghetti. “After a few days marooned on the beach they were rescued by a Qantas flying boat.”

We are on a 10-day Kimberley expedition cruise from Broome to Darwin aboard Seabourn Pursuit, and although we expected the waterfalls, wetlands and wildlife, the human stories are a surprise.

After a Zodiac landing on the beach, a hike across the vast salt pan brings us to the wreck, now largely engulfed by greenery. We learn that the C-53 had been assisting with the transfer of Dutch citizens following the invasion of the Dutch East Indies by Japanese forces, and was on its return leg from Perth to Darwin via Broome when the pilot became disoriented in a storm.

Jar Island caves.

Hearing about this wartime evacuation hits hard. My Dutch father-in-law, who was just a 14-year-old boy at the time and had been living a peaceful life with his family in Java, wasn’t so lucky. Instead, he was separated from his mother, sister and extended family and interned by the Japanese in a camp for the next 22 months. His hand-scribbled diary, which tells of hunger, brutality and loneliness, still makes us weep.

An onboard lecture introduces us to the World War II history of northern Australia, including the Truscott Airfield, a top-secret airbase constructed in 1944 just 10 kilometres from the C-53 crash site. Other talks cover everything from geology to crocodile behaviour to nautical navigation using a marine sextant.

And that’s the strength of the 264-passenger Seabourn Pursuit, not just the ship’s state-of-the-art technology or its ultra-luxurious ethos, but the expertise of its 24-person expedition team of academics, scientists and naturalists, who soon have us sprouting facts with David Attenborough precision.

On nearby Jar Island, named by surveyor Phillip Parker King for the shards of clay jars found on the island, we find another layer to the human history of Vansittart Bay.

“It is likely the jars were used by early Macassans, who would travel from Sulawesi to the top end of Australia to trade with the Indigenous people for sea cucumbers,” says Jesse.

Indigenous Gwion art can be seen on an excursion to Vansittart Bay.Credit: Alamy Stock Photo

As a sign of the cruise line’s commitment to the people and places it visits, the Wunambal Gaambera Traditional Owners of Ngula Jar Island were appointed as the godparents of Seabourn Pursuit in a naming ceremony held on the island in June. Our visit today is evidence of the strength of the partnership designed to help support the traditional wwners in developing a self-sustaining tourism industry.

After a beach landing by Zodiac it’s an uphill hike, past an ancient burial site to two rock art galleries, each with vivid examples of Gwion art (formerly known as Bradshaw). For once, I don’t reach for my camera. The power of these human figures, with their long-limbed bodies and elegant headdresses and tassels, possesses a life-force that cannot be captured in a photograph.

Gazing at these paintings, unique to the Kimberley and estimated to have been created more than 10, 000 years ago, is a humbling experience.

Beyond the sheer beauty of the artwork, they stand as testament to Australia’s Indigenous people, who have lived and thrived here for some 60,000 years, caring for country and who are now sharing their culture with visitors.

At first, the Kimberley can seem hard to connect with – it’s just so vast, so remote, almost surreal in its grandeur, but through the human stories it’s possible to make sense of it all.

THE DETAILS

CRUISE

Seabourne Pursuit carries a 24-person expedition team of academics, scientists and naturalists.

Fares for a verandah suite on a 10-day Kimberley Expedition: Waterfalls and Wandjinas, running between Darwin and Broome from May 30 to August 24, 2025, start from $15, 276 per guest based on double occupancy. Wi-Fi, Zodiac excursions, complimentary in-suite bar, all dining experiences including spirits, fine wines and other beverages are included. There are five wheelchair accessible suites. See seabourn.com

FLY
Qantas, Virgin Australia and Jetstar all fly regularly to Broome or Darwin from various capital cities.

The writer was a guest of Seabourn