Western Australia was established in 1827 and proclaimed a British penal settlement in 1849 with the first convicts arriving in 1850. Rottnest Island, off the coast of Perth, became the colony's convict settlement in 1838 and was used for local colonial offenders.
Just under 10,000 British convicts were sent directly to the colony in the 18 years to 1868. They were used by local settlers as labour to develop the region. On January 9, 1868, Australia's last convict ship, the Hougoumont unloaded the final 269 convicts. (Source: www.australia.gov.au) |
The Swan River Colony was a new venture in the colonisation of Australia. New South Wales and Van Diemen’s Land had been convict settlements, while other smaller colonial outposts at Melville Island, Norfolk Island, Westernport and King George Sound had also been founded by soldiers and convicts. The Swan River Colony was to be for free settlers only. The British Government was going to keep its costs very low by only supplying a Governor, some administrators and soldiers to protect the settlement. The new Colony was to be financed by private investors. These investors made money by encouraging people to immigrate to the Swan River Colony. (Source: http://www.valuingheritage.com.au/)
Click here to read the above if you cannot read it | |
File Size: | 262 kb |
File Type: |
Fremantle Prison
Built by convicts in 1850, Fremantle Prison is the best-preserved convict-built prison in Australia and is part of the earliest phase of European settlement in Western Australia. Fremantle Prison is an episode from the series Australia’s Heritage – National Treasures with Chris Taylor, produced in 2009. Click on the image on the right to access the video from National Film and Sound Archive |
Click on the below images to access more information
Problems experienced by the new colony |
The story of Yagan and his resistence to white settlement |
Pearling in Western AustraliaPre-European settlement, the coastal Aboriginal people (the Djuleun and Bardi people) first harvested pearl shell in the shallow waters of northern Western Australia. Pearl shell was used for body ornaments and traded with other Aboriginal clans.
In the 1880s after European settlement, Aboriginal people were exploited as unpaid workers, sometimes kidnapped from inland camps and forced to work as deep sea divers without any equipment. Death through drowning and “the bends” was common but as slave labour, Aboriginal divers were highly sought after. The discrimination against Aboriginal people was endorsed by law. By 1910, there were nearly 400 pearling luggers owned by British and Europeans, and more than 3500 people were pearling. Broome was the world's largest pearling centre. The majority of the workers were Japanese and Malay’s, but also included were Chinese, Filipino, Amborese, Koepanger (Timorese), Makassan, and Aboriginal people. All divers were paid by the amount of shell they collected. As such, their wages were very low and they often stayed underwater longer than was safe. Although some divers, particularly the Japanese, became very wealthy, many died. Over 1000 Japanese divers are buried in the Japanese Cemetery in Broome, a long way from home. |
When Lieutenant-Governor James Stirling established Western Australia's Swan River colony (later the city of Perth) in 1829, times were tough. Seed refused to grow, food was scarce, and the initially good relations between British settlers and local Indigenous Noongar people tragically spiraled out of control into a conflict over land and resources.Standing out during this period were the actions of a Noongar warrior named Yagan.
Confused by the actions of the settlers and refusing to submit to their strange British laws, Yagan fought back against the colonizers, murdering a settler in retribution for the death of one of his family. His reputation grew quickly, and he was soon a wanted man. Tricked into being captured, Yagan was on the cusp of execution for his crimes when he was saved at the last minute by an enigmatic Scottish pastor named Robert Lyon. Yagan's story is not just one of the earliest examples of Indigenous resistance. It's also a sad reminder of a missed opportunity - a genuine chance to unite both black and white Australia right from the beginning of the country's birth. (Source: http://www.abc.net.au/indigenous/programs/yagan/) Click here to read more about Yagan |
Western Australia's Founders
In late 1826, Lockyer led an expedition to claim Western Australia for Britain. He sailed on the brig Amity, arriving at King George Sound on 25 December, with twenty troops and twenty three convicts. This was the beginning of the first European settlement in Western Australia. On 21 January 1827, as instructed by theSecretary of State for War and the Colonies Earl Bathurst, the Union Jack was raised and a feu de joie fired by the troops, formally annexing the territory, in assertion of the first official claim by the Imperial Government to British possession over the whole continent of Australia.
The military base established by Lockyer was named Frederick Town, later renamed Albany, and would become an important deep water port. His interview with two sealers, arrested for crimes against local people, revealed intelligence of Dumont D'Urville's survey of King George Sound. Lockyer had planned an overland journey to the Swan River region in February, but learned that James Stirling had already examined the area. Lockyer was to remain in the settlement until command could be given to Captain Joseph Wakefield. Lockyer returned to Sydney on 3 April 1827, sold his army commission and settled in Sydney. (Source: Wikipedia) John Septimus RoeAs one of the early explorers, J.S. Roe was responsible for naming many towns and features in W.A. Roe arrived in WA in 1829 as Surveyor General - a post that he was initially meant to fill for just two years. 40 years later with at least 16 major (and many minor) explorations completed, Roe had traveled the length and breadth of the state. Roe's initial work in W.A. was almost impossible. With just one 'sickly' assistant surveyor he was expected to lay out town sites in Perth and Fremantle while at the same time survey properties for all the settlers who had made claims for land grants. Inevitably mistakes were made and for very many years afterwards Roe was involved in many disputes between land owners and their boundaries.
Roebourne, Roe Highway, Roe Street, Matilda Bay, Mt. Matilda, Bennett St. and many others mark the remarkable contribution John made to the development of W.A. Click here for an information page on John Septimus Roe |
Sir James Stirling, the first Governor of Western Australia, was born in 1791. In January 1826, he was given command of the new Success
and sent to form a settlement in Raffles Bay, Torres Strait, because of French activity in the
Pacific.
The successful manner in which he carried out this duty earned him the hearty commendation of
the Governor of New South Wales who next sent him on the same vessel later that year to visit
and report on the west coast of Australia.
Stirling was impressed with the land in the vicinity of the Swan River and in glowing terms
described it as an ideal site for establishing a permanent settlement.
Stirling's persistent arguments attracted the attention of investors and speculators and with rumours that the French had designs on the region he finally overcame official reluctance to establish a colony on the West Coast of New Holland (Australia). He was appointed Lieutenant Governor of the new settlement and accompanied by his wife and three year old son Andrew set sail for the colony from Plymouth on 9 February 1829 in the chartered transport vessel Parmelia. Packed into the 443 ton barque Parmelia were nearly 150 men, women and children, passengers and crew, together with their personal belongings, the stores, cattle and poultry and much of the equipment required to set up the new colony. The Parmelia was accompanied by HMS Sulphur carrying a detachment of troops of the 63rd Regiment under the command of Captain FC Irwin. The Parmelia arrived off the Western Australian coast near the mouth of the Swan River on 31 May and on 18 June Stirling proclaimed the foundation of the colony. Stirling administered the Swan River Colony from June 1829 until August 1832 when he departed on an extended visit to England where he was knighted. A year later in August 1834 Stirling returned to Western Australia and continued to administer the colony until December 1838. The leading settlers were honestly pained to see Stirling leave Fremantle on the 5 January 1839 as their guiding light and mentor he had shared their speculations in a great adventure. Numerous landmarks in Western Australia today stand as a memorial to this great sailor and explorer whose infant colony, beset by so many problems in its early years, grew and matured into a prosperous and progressive member of the Commonwealth of Australia. (Source: http://www.celebratewa.com.au/wa-history/) Charles Howe FremantleIn 1829, at the age of 29, Captain Charles Howe Fremantle was placed in charge of the HMS Challenger, one of the three ships involved in the founding of Western Australia. Once reaching Western Australia, the HMS Challenger anchored in Cockburn Sound and under the guidance of Fremantle exploration of the Swan River commenced.
On 2 May 1829 Captain Fremantle took formal possession of the whole of the western coast of Australia in the name of King George IV of Britain. The City of Fremantle in Western Australia is named after him. (Source: http://www.celebratewa.com.au/wa-history/) |