Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The Founding of Perth
The challenge to Aboriginal supremacy in the west began in 1829, when a boatload of free
immigrants arrived with all their possessions in the territory of the Noongar people. This
group was led by Captain James Stirling - a swashbuckling and entrepreneurial naval of-
ficer - who had investigated the coastal region two years earlier. Stirling had convinced
British authorities to appoint him governor of the new settlement, and promptly declared all
the surrounding Aboriginal lands to be the property of King George IV. Such was the
foundation of Perth.
Stirling's glowing reports had fired the ambitions of English adventurers and investors,
and by the end of the year, 25 ships had reached the colony's port at Fremantle. Unlike
their predecessors in Sydney, these settlers were determined to build their fortunes without
calling on government assistance and without the shame of using convict labour.
Kim Scott's
Benang
(1999), which won the Miles Franklin Award in 2000, is a confronting but rewarding
read about the assimilation policies of the 20th century and the devastating effect they had on Aboriginal
Australia.
