Hartog Plate

Original of Dirk Hartog's plate in the Rijksmuseum

Hartog Plate or Dirk Hartog's Plate is either of two pewter plates, although primarily the first, which were left on Dirk Hartog Island on the western coast of Australia before European settlement there. The first plate, left in 1616 by Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog, is the oldest-known artefact of European exploration in Australia still in existence. A replacement, which includes the text of the original and some new text, was left in 1697; the original dish was returned to the Netherlands, where it is now on display in the Rijksmuseum. Further additions at the site, in 1801 and 1818, led to the location being named Cape Inscription.