Batavia Road was one of the first boats used for a commercial tourist operation in the Houtman Abrolhos

Houtman Abrolhos

The Houtman Abrolhos is a chain of 122 islands, and associated coral reefs, in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia. Nominally located at , it lies about eighty kilometres west of Geraldton, Western Australia...

.

Between 1946 and 1948, the Batavia Road and Suda Bay

Suda Bay (ship)

The Suda Bay was a 14.3 ton motor boat that was one of the first boats used for a commercial tourist operation in the Houtman Abrolhos.Between 1946 and 1948, the Suda Bay and Batavia Road were used by Dal Gaze and Alan Fox to transport tourists to and from the Houtman Abrolhos, especially Pelsaert...

were used by Dal Gaze and Alan Fox to transport tourists to and from the Houtman Abrolhos, especially Pelsaert Island. This represents the first known commercial tourist operation in the Houtman Abrolhos. In 1948, the partnership between Gaze and Fox broke up, but Gaze continued using the Batavia Road for tourism, and also used it to transport stores to fishermen stationed in the Pelsaert Group

Pelsaert Group

The Pelsaert Group is the southernmost of the three groups of islands that make up the Houtman Abrolhos island chain. Nominally located at , it consists of a number of islands, the largest of which are Gun Island, Middle Island, and Pelsaert Island. The group is named after a Dutch "opperkoopman"...

. During a severe storm in June 1948, it ran aground on Half Moon Reef and was nearly sunk. Gaze eventually wound up his tourist operation in 1951. The Batavia Road later foundered on rocks 30 kilometres (20 mi) north of Geraldton

Geraldton, Western Australia

Geraldton is a city and port in Western Australia located north of Perth in the Mid West region. Geraldton has an estimated population at June 2010 of 36,958...

in January 1974.