A spell was cast over Graeme Cocks when he was summoned to coffee and cinnamon biscuits
at an unassuming house in Fremantle, Western Australia, in 1994. For the next 20 years, he
could not release himself from the grip of a little sailing ship called Duyfken - the Little Dove.
Against all odds, a magnificent 16th century Dutch sailing ship was conceived and
constructed in the heart of the old port city of Fremantle. Hailed as the finest 'Age of
Discovery' replica ship ever built, Duyfken was sailed on two momentous voyages across the
world's great oceans to Indonesia and then to Europe. And along the way, the old narrative of
the first ship recorded in history to visit Australia was rewritten.
Through Darkest Seas tells the previously untold story of the replica, from its genesis in the
imagination of a Dutch immigrant, to the challenge of building a remarkable ship using
traditional skills, and the people who built and sailed her.
It is the complete inside account of these achievements which has never been told before.
Graeme Cocks was there from the beginning and then he ran the project through its most
glorious and difficult years. The book documents the triumphant highs and tragic lows and
the incredible cast of personalities who shared the Duyfken dream.
It is the first time this wonderful story has been told -
a story of pain and hardship, of euphoric achievements
and of questioning the very reasons why the ship was
even built to begin with. Come aboard, for a journey
Through Darkest Seas.
Graeme Cocks is an author on motoring and maritime history. He has contributed to maritime books and is the author of many books on motoring history. Twice shortlisted for Book of the Year at the International Historic Motoring Awards in London (2015 and 2016), he's the only Australian writer to have achieved this honour. His book 'Red Dust Racers' also won the Gold Medal in the Transportation category of the International Independent Publishers Awards in New York in May 2017. His book, 'Claude Deane. Western Australia's Motor Dealer Extraordinaire' was short-listed for the Royal Automobile Club of the United Kingdom's Motoring Book of the Year Awards in 2020. It was also runner-up in the Royal WA Historical Society AE Williams Lee Steere 2020 Publication Prize. He was curator of the Fremantle and York motor museums.He was formerly Project Director of the Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation managing the final construction and international voyaging of the Duyfken replica sailing ship, and is a past Chair of the Foundation.
