A replica of the Dutch ship Duyfken will also sail to the coastal city of Mandurah, only 74 km south of Perth, as part of the State Government's celebration of the first recorded evidence of Europeans to set foot on Western Australia 400 years ago.

The Duyfken, built in Fremantle and launched in 1999 at a cost of $3.7 million is an authentic replica of the little Dutch ship built around 1595, which was the first historically recorded ship to make the voyage to Australia some 10 years before Dirk Hartog arrived in his ship the Eendracht.

The Duyfken departs Fremantle on August 20 for Bunbury. It will then sail to Mandurah, where it will stay from September 5 to 14, before travelling to Hillaries, Jurien Bay, Dongara, Geraldton and Denham before heading to Cape Inscription on Dirk Hartog Island. The Duyfken will be docked near the Mandurah Offshore Fishing and Sailing Club.

Members of the public as well as school groups will be able to board the Duyfken and step back in time to the early 1600s. There will be a fully integrated audio tour illustrating the challenges faced by crews as they ventured from the Netherlands to the Spice Islands.

Tickets are available from Ticketek on http://premier.ticketek.com.au at $12.74 for people aged 17 and over and $5.10 for five to 16 year-olds.

Lotterywest has funded repairs to enable the Duyfken to make her commemorative journey as part of the celebrations.

For more information contact Helen Ganska on 0418 863 401 or Allen Newton on 0423 846 067 from Newton Ganska Communications.