Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog lands on an island in Shark Bay, marking his visit with a pewter plate on
which he inscribed a record of his visit.
1629
Debauchery, rape and murder break out while the
Batavia
is shipwrecked at the Houtman Abrolhos
Islands. All crew but two are subsequently executed at senior merchant Francisco Pelsaert's behest.
1697
Willem de Vlamingh replaces Hartog's plate with his own.
1826
The British army establishes a military post in Albany, on the southern coast.
1829
Led by Captain James Stirling, a boatload of free immigrants land in the territory of the Noongar
people.
1829
Governor Stirling declares all surrounding Aboriginal lands to be the property of King George IV.
Perth is founded.
1834
The Battle of Pinjarra occurs after Stirling leads a punitive expedition against the Noongar. It is
thought that 25 Aboriginal people are shot, with Stirling's camp suffering one fatality.
1840-41
An Aboriginal man called Wylie and explorer Edward Eyre make a staggering journey across the
Nullarbor Plain to Albany.
1850
Shiploads of male convicts start to arrive in Fremantle. They go on to build key historical buildings
such as Fremantle prison, Government House and Perth Town Hall.
1860s
With no democracy, a network of city merchants and squatters exercises control over the colony.
