Discovery-of-Australia artifact

On loan from Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum until Oct. 29, the Hartog Plate is on display at the Australia National Maritime Museum (2 Murray St. Darling Harbour, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia; phone +61 2 9298 3777, www.anmm.gov.au). 

The inscribed pewter plate was first placed at Shark Bay, Western Australia, in 1616 by Dutch East India Company captain Dirk Hartog and his crew, the first Europeans to set foot in Australia, in commemoration of their landing. 

Museum open daily, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Admission, including the Hartog Plate exhibit, is free.