73-632: Captain Mark John Currie RN (later Vice-Admiral) played a significant role in the exploration of Australia and the foundation of the Swan River Colony , later named Western Australia . He explored areas in New South Wales , after which he returned to a post in England. In 1829 he married and left three weeks later for Australia on the 443-ton Parmelia with his wife and servants, arriving at
146-527: A cutter and gig with parties continuing on foot from 13 March. In late March, Success moved to Sydney , arriving there on 15 April. Stirling arrived back in England in July 1828, promoting in glowing terms the agricultural potential of the area. His lobbying was for the establishment of a free settlement – unlike penal colonies at New South Wales , Port Arthur and Norfolk Island – in
219-523: A diary of a journey from Augusta to Perth and is credited with the discovery of the Capel River. Currie was allotted a 32-acre (130,000 m) grant of land 3 miles (4.8 km) south-west of the present centre of Perth, alongside a wide point in the Swan River known then as Eliza Bay and Point Currie. The Curries left Garden Island on 2 November to set up their tent on their allotment. After Currie left
292-402: A few settlers arrived and additional stores were dispatched. By 1832 the population of the colony had reached about 1,500. Aboriginal people were not counted at that time, but in the south west have been estimated to number 15,000. The difficulty of clearing land to grow crops was so great that by 1850 the population of settlers had increased only to 5,886. This population had settled mainly around
365-752: A gale on 23 August 1829. The wreck is visible in Jane Currie's Panorama of the Swan River Settlement . Currie became the Swan River Colony's first Auditor, appointed 1 July 1831, at a salary of 300 pounds "because his ability, intelligence and Integrity render him far more valuable to the public in that capacity than as Harbour Master". He was made responsible to the Colonial Office through the Governor. On 6 February 1832, empowered by Parliament through
438-489: A name used by Indigenous Australians : Here we may remark on the tenacity with which the Murrumbidgee River long eluded the eye of the white man. It is scarcely probable that Meehan and Hume, who on this occasion were within comparatively easy reach of the head waters, could have seen a new inland river at that time without mentioning the fact, but there is no record traceable anywhere as to the date of its discovery, or
511-401: A privately run settlement were also started with a consortium of four gentlemen headed by Potter McQueen , a member of Parliament who had already acquired a large tract of land in New South Wales . The consortium withdrew after the Colonial Office refused to give it preference over independent settlers in selecting land, but one member, Thomas Peel , accepted the terms and proceeded alone. Peel
584-583: A small hill, now named Baldivis. From the summit of this hill they could see a course of water, that Currie later referred to as the Serpentine . This name first appeared on a map published by the Royal Geographical Society in 1832. At one time this river was mistaken for the Murray River . The first task of the administrators was to find a site for the principal town. A location on the Swan River
657-462: A subsequent search party found none of the survivors. The wreck was rediscovered in 1963. In 1658, three Dutch Republic ships, also partially searching for Vergulde Draeck visited the area. Waekende Boey under Captain S. Volckertszoon, Elburg under Captain J. Peereboom and Emeloort under Captain A. Joncke sighted Rottnest but did not proceed any closer to the mainland because of the many reefs. They then travelled north and subsequently found
730-649: A suburb of the town of Swan about 14 miles (23 km) north-east of Perth, takes its name from the brook, a tributary of the Swan River. Stirling named this Jane Brook , in Jane Currie's honour. He was promoted to Post Captain in 1841. In January 1854, Rear Admiral Sir James Stirling was appointed Commander-in-Chief China and the East Indies Station and immediately wrote to the Admiralty applying for Currie to be his secretary. They arrived in Hong Kong on 11 May and
803-556: A transport route, with paddle steamers navigating the river as far as Gundagai . The river trade declined with the coming of the railways. Paddle steamers last used the Murrumbidgee in the 1930s. To allow the steamers and towed barges to pass, there were opening bridges at Hay , Balranald , and Carathool The river has risen above 7 metres (23 ft) at Gundagai nine times between 1852 and 2010, an average of just under once every eleven years. Since 1925, flooding has been minor with
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#1733202691197876-559: A very poor condition in the Murray-Darling basin with fish stocks in both rivers were also rated as extremely poor, with only 13 of the original 22 native fish species still found in the Murrumbidgee River. The Murrumbidgee River runs through the traditional lands of the Ngarigo, Ngunnawal, Wiradjuri , Nari Nari and Muthi Muthi Aboriginal peoples. The Murrumbidgee River was known to Europeans before they first recorded it. In 1820
949-416: Is approximately at Warnbro Sound . He did not land because of heavy surf, and so proceeded northwards without much investigation. On 28 April 1656, Vergulde Draeck en route to Batavia (now Jakarta ) was shipwrecked 107 km (66 mi) north of the Swan River near Ledge Point. Of the 193 on board, only 75 made it to shore. A small boat that survived the wreckage then sailed to Batavia for help, but
1022-672: Is in the Tate Gallery , London. His younger brother, Frederick was created 1st Baronet in 1847 for his services to the Government of India in negotiating the treaties of Lahore and Bhyrowal. The family descended from the ancient Scots Corrie family of Annandale and the Western Isles, through Cuthbert Currie, a cadet living in Duns in the 16th century. It is not related to the Clan Currie created in
1095-479: Is recorded at 193 Clifton Villas, Beckenham, Kent, on a visit to her daughter Jane Eliza Macrae, who married Robert Campbell Macrae in 1854 and had eight children, the eldest of whom, Mark, later lived at Cranbrook Road, Rose Bay, New South Wales. Swan River Colony The Swan River Colony , also known as the Swan River Settlement , or just Swan River , was a British colony established in 1829 on
1168-727: Is suggested that the Upper Murrumbidgee is an anabranch of the Tumut River (that once continued north along Mutta Mutta Creek) when geological uplift near Adaminaby diverted its flow. From Gundagai onwards the rivers flow within its ancestral channel. In June 2008 the Murray-Darling Basin Commission released a report on the condition of the Murray–Darling basin , with the Goulburn and Murrumbidgee Rivers rated in
1241-579: Is today the home of the Royal Perth Yacht Club , the Mounts Bay Sailing Club and the 1st Pelican Point Sea Scouts. A later settlement was alongside the Swan, 5 miles (8.0 km) north of east of the centre of Perth. Here, early in 1831, he built a brick homestead, near the present day Water Street, which he named Redcliff, after the steep red clay banks of the river. Today the area is part of
1314-673: The Parmelia . During the voyage Stirling started to make arrangements for the administration of the settlement. He formed "A Board of Counsel and Audit in the management of the property of the Crown and of public property within the Settlement" and on 16 May the Colonial Secretary, Peter Brown issued an instruction appointing Currie, Roe and the Registrar, William Stirling, to act as Commissioners of
1387-597: The Murray River . The river flows for 66 kilometres (41 mi) through the Australian Capital Territory near Canberra , picking up the important tributaries of the Gudgenby , Queanbeyan , Molonglo and Cotter Rivers . The Murrumbidgee drains much of southern New South Wales and all of the Australian Capital Territory, and is an important source of irrigation water for the Riverina farming area. The reaches of
1460-684: The Murray–Darling basin and the second longest river in Australia . It flows through the Australian state of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory , descending 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) over 1,485 kilometres (923 mi), generally in a west-northwesterly direction from the foot of Peppercorn Hill in the Fiery Range of the Snowy Mountains towards its confluence with
1533-639: The Swan River , in Western Australia . This initial settlement place on the Swan River was soon named Perth , and it became the capital city of Western Australia. The name was a pars pro toto for Western Australia. On 6 February 1832, the colony was renamed the Colony of Western Australia , when the colony's founding lieutenant-governor , Captain James Stirling , belatedly received his commission. However,
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#17332026911971606-403: The 18th century from a sept of the ancient Scots MacMhuirrich Clan. Mark John married Jane Eliza née Wood on 14 January 1829. They had six children. The first two, Jane Eliza (17 January 1830) and Mark Riddell (17 August 1831) were born in the Swan River Colony. Charlotte (1833), Henrietta Blackwood (1834), Albert Purcell (12 September 1837) and Algernon (1840) were born in England. He entered
1679-506: The ACT is effectively half the river it used to be. The reduced and significantly modified flow of the river is further exasperated by dams on its tributaries, such as Scrivener Dam , Cotter Dam , and Googong Dam . A study suggests a section of the upper river's channels are relatively new in geological terms, dating from the early Miocene (the Miocene era being from 23 to 5 million years ago). It
1752-589: The Admiral's flag was transferred to Winchester . Two weeks later news was received from England that war had been declared on Russia and the next day the Winchester led a small squadron northwards along the Chinese coast to make a show of strength and 'to prevent Russian ships of war and their prizes from making use of (Japanese) ports'. Stirling's letters and Currie's diaries record the patient and tactful negotiations with
1825-505: The Board. The document ended: "The duties of this office created by the appointment will be fully made known to you hereafter by the Instructions and References which you will occasionally receive. In the meantime I am to acquaint you that his Excellency expects from your zeal the performance of the service required of you without reward of remuneration beyond the satisfaction you will derive from
1898-467: The French ships Géographe captained by Nicolas Baudin and Naturaliste captained by Emmanuel Hamelin visited the area from the south. While Géographe continued northwards, Naturaliste remained for a few weeks. A small expedition dragged longboats over the sand bar and explored the Swan River. They also gave unfavourable descriptions regarding any potential settlement due to many mud flats upstream and
1971-537: The Governor of Nagasaki to achieve this aim and the events leading up to Stirling signing the first Anglo-Japanese Friendship Treaty . He received two further promotions, to Rear Admiral on the Reserved List in 1862 and to Vice-Admiral in 1867. Vice-Admiral Mark John Currie died on 2 May 1874, in Thicket Road, Anerley, Crystal Palace, Surrey. Jane Eliza Currie survived him by two years. In the 1871 British Census she
2044-630: The Limestone Plains through an area ideal for settlement (now Canberra ) to an area which Currie named Isabella's Plain after Isabella Brisbane, the infant daughter of the Governor, Sir Thomas Brisbane . Today this is a suburb in the Tuggeranong district of Canberra. They came to the Murrumbidgee River and followed it in a southerly direction, crossing the Umaralla River thinking it to be
2117-528: The Murray River near Boundary Bend . The word Murrumbidgee or Marrambidya means "big water" in the Wiradjuri language , one of the local Australian Aboriginal languages . The river itself flows through several traditional Aboriginal Australian lands, home to various Aboriginal peoples. In the Australian Capital Territory, the river is bordered by a narrow strip of land on each side; these are managed as
2190-596: The Murrumbidgee River Corridor (MRC). This land includes many nature reserves , eight recreation reserves, a European heritage conservation zone and rural leases. The mainstream of the river system flows for 900 kilometres (560 mi). The river's headwaters arise from the wet heath and bog at the foot of Peppercorn Hill situated along Long Plain which is within the Fiery Range of the Snowy Mountains ; and about 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Kiandra . From its headwaters it flows to its confluence with
2263-471: The Murrumbidgee River including Wagga Wagga, where the river peaked at 10.56 metres (34.6 ft) on 6 March 2012. This peak was 0.18 metres (0.59 ft) below the 1974 flood level of 10.74 metres (35.2 ft). Major wetlands along the Murrumbidgee or associated with the Murrumbidgee catchment include: Download coordinates as: The Murrumbidgee River has about 90 named tributaries in total; 24 rivers, and numerous creeks and gullies. The ordering of
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2336-599: The Murrumbidgee in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) are affected by the complete elimination of large spring snowmelt flows and a reduction of average annual flows of almost 50%, due to Tantangara Dam . Tantangara Dam was completed in 1960 on the headwaters of Murrumbidgee River and diverted approximately 99% of the river's flow at that point into Lake Eucumbene . This has extremely serious effects on native fish populations and other native aquatic life and has led to serious siltation, stream contraction, fish habitat loss, and other problems. The Murrumbidgee where it enters
2409-524: The Murrumbidgee. There they came to fertile plains which they named Brisbane Downs. Today the aboriginal name Monaro has been restored to the region. It is likely that the fertility of these areas of New South Wales led him to underestimate the problems that would later be faced in the Swan River Settlement. When he was a midshipman he must have given a good account of himself because, when in 1827 Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Blackwood became Commander-in-Chief, The Nore , he appointed Currie as his Secretary. The Nore
2482-652: The Order-in-Council officially constituting the colony, a legislative council was formed, comprising the governor, the Senior Military Officer, the Colonial Secretary, the Surveyor-General and the Advocate-General. On his own initiative Stirling added Currie to the list as clerk to the council, as he "could not find within the colony a person better calculated than the gentleman who now fills it". This
2555-510: The Parmelia. Dined at the Governor's. Slept under His Majesty's canvas, within our own walls". She lists their "stock, brought from the Cape and landed on Garden Island - Cow & calf, 4 Merinos, Sow, Goat & kid, 4 Ducks, 4 Drakes, 2 Cocks and 3 Hens - 3 couple Pigeons, 2½ couple Rabbits, 3 couple Guinea fowl." The families remained on Garden Island for the first few months while the menfolk explored
2628-555: The Royal Navy as a Volunteer, First-Class, at age 12 on 29 April 1808, and was posted to Warspite under Captain Blackwood (later Vice-Admiral Sir Henry Blackwood ). There he met James Stirling and the two became close and lifelong friends. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 23 September 1813 and served on Centaur (1814/15), Rivoli (1816/17), Racehorse (1818), Nimrod (1820), Satellite (1821) and Leander (1821/22). He
2701-496: The Swan River Colony for Britain on 2 May. Parmelia arrived in Cockburn Sound on 2 June carrying Stirling and his party, and HMS Sulphur arrived on 8 June carrying members of the 63rd Regiment and families. Three merchant ships arrived shortly after: Calista on 5 August, St Leonard on 6 August and Marquis of Anglesea on 23 August. A series of accidents followed the arrivals which probably nearly caused
2774-399: The Swan River Settlement shows Fremantle in 1831. From it one can begin to appreciate the magnitude of the challenge faced by the colonists. Mark John was born on 21 June 1795, the second of eight children of Mark Currie, Esq. of Upper Gatton, Surrey, and Elizabeth (née Close) and he was educated at Charterhouse School . A portrait by Romney of his mother, entitled Mrs Mark Currie 1789 ,
2847-554: The Swan River area with himself as its governor. As a result of these reports, and a rumour in London that the French were about to establish a penal colony in the western part of Australia, possibly at Shark Bay , the Colonial Office assented to the proposal in mid-October 1828. In December 1828, a Secretary of State for Colonies despatch reserved land for the Crown, as well as for the clergy, and for education, and specified that water frontage
2920-415: The abandonment of the expedition. Challenger and Sulphur both struck rocks while entering Cockburn Sound and were fortunate to escape with only minor damage. Parmelia however, under Stirling's "over confident pilotage", also ran aground, lost her rudder and damaged her keel, which necessitated extensive repairs. With winter now set in, the settlers were obliged to land on Garden Island . Bad weather and
2993-509: The actual river in April 1821. In 1823, Brigade-Major John Ovens and Captain Mark Currie reached the upper Murrumbidgee when exploring south of Lake George . In 1829, Charles Sturt and his party rowed down the lower half of the Murrumbidgee River in a stoutly built, large row-boat, from Narrandera to the Murray River, and then down the Murray River to the sea. They rowed back upstream, against
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3066-464: The bank opposite its embouchure , whilst we continued to gaze in silent astonishment on the capacious channel [of the Murray River] we had entered ... The Murrumbidgee basin was opened to settlement in the 1830s and soon became an important farming area. Ernest Favenc , when writing on Australian exploration, commented on the relatively tardy European discovery of the river and that the river retained
3139-489: The coast of what was to become the Swan River settlement on 31 May 1829. Chief among the other passengers were Lieutenant Governor Captain James Stirling , Colonial Secretary Peter Brown , Surveyor-General Lieutenant John Septimus Roe , botanist James Drummond and their families. The diaries and paintings by his wife, Jane Eliza Currie, provide a glimpse into the hard life of the first settlers. Her painting Panorama of
3212-600: The colony he sold this grant to Henry Sutherland, the Assistant Surveyor, who later changed the name to Crawley Bay after his mother's maiden name. Later still it became Matilda Bay , to honour Matilda Roe, the wife of the Surveyor General. In 1910 the site was acquired by the state and today is the campus of the University of Western Australia . Point Currie, also known as Pelican Point and J H Abraham's Reserve,
3285-499: The current to their starting point. Sturt's description of their passage through the junction of the Murrumbidgee and Murray Rivers is dramatic. His description of wild strong currents in the Murrumbidgee— in the middle of summer (14 January 1830), when flows are declining and close to the seasonal summer/autumn minimum, is in contrast to the reduced flow seen at the junction today in mid-summer: The men looked anxiously out ahead; for
3358-453: The development of a necessary class of wage-labourers. Karl Marx , in Das Kapital , used Wakefield's ideas and the Swan River Colony to illustrate a point about the necessity of a dependent workforce for capitalist production and colonisation. Murrumbidgee River The Murrumbidgee River ( / m ʌr ə m ˈ b ɪ dʒ i / ) is a major tributary of the Murray River within
3431-507: The exception of floods in 1974 and in December 2010, when the river rose to 10.2 metres (33 ft) at Gundagai. In the 1852 disaster, the river rose to just over 12.2 m (40 ft). The following year the river again rose to just over 12.5 m (41 ft). The construction of Burrinjuck Dam from 1907 has significantly reduced flooding but, despite the dam, there were major floods in 1925, 1950, 1974 and 2012. The most notable flood
3504-475: The explorer Charles Throsby informed the Governor of New South Wales that he anticipated finding "a considerable river of salt water (except at very wet seasons), called by the natives Mur-rum-big-gee". In the expedition journal, Throsby wrote as a marginal note: "This river or stream is called by the natives Yeal-am-bid-gie ..." . The river he had stumbled upon was in fact the Molonglo River , Throsby reached
3577-673: The fulfilment of a duty of this confidential nature." On 31 May the passengers had their first sight of the western coast of Australia and that night the Parmelia anchored off the west coast of Garden Island . The following day the plan was to anchor in Cockburn Sound , between Garden Island and the mainland, but a heavy swell prevented this and instead they anchored off Rottnest Island . On 2 June they made another attempt but, in Stirling's words "The Parmelia under my over-confident pilotage took
3650-590: The ground". The next day Captain Charles Fremantle , who had been sent ahead in HMS ; Challenger to claim the colony for King George IV , and the combined efforts of the crews of both ships "extricated her from her perilous situation after she had received much damage". The need to repair the damage made it necessary for the livestock and the passengers and their property to be unloaded and landed on Garden Island. Jane Currie's diary records "July 8, 1829 - Left
3723-456: The mainland. Soon after arrival Currie, on the Governor's pony, was declared the winner of the colony's first unofficial horse race, held on the shore of Garden Island. Currie made three expeditions south of the Swan during 1829. In July he led an exploration south of Fremantle. He was accompanied by botanist James Drummond, Dr Simmons and Lieut. George Griffin. From the coast at the present day town of Rockingham they moved inland and climbed
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#17332026911973796-494: The name Swan River Colony remained in informal use for many years. The first recorded Europeans to sight land where the city of Perth is now located were Dutch sailors. Most likely the first visitor to the Swan River area was Frederick de Houtman on 19 July 1619, travelling on the ships Dordrecht and Amsterdam . His records indicate he first reached the Western Australian coast at latitude 32°20', which
3869-565: The name of its finder. When in 1823 Captain Currie and Major Ovens were led along its bank on to the beautiful Maneroo country by Joseph Wild, the stream was then familiar to the early settlers and called the Morumbidgee. Even in 1821, when Hume found the Yass Plains, almost on its bank, he makes no special mention of the river. From all this we may deduce the extremely probable fact that the position of
3942-448: The new colony arrived back in England in late January 1830. They described the poor conditions and the starving state of the colonists, deemed the land totally unfit for agriculture, and reported (incorrectly) that the settlers had abandoned the colony. As a result of these reports, many people cancelled their migration plans or diverted to Cape Town in South Africa, or to the more well-established New South Wales colony. Nevertheless,
4015-443: The punishments he saw at the time of his visit. Starting in May 1823, Currie, together with Brigade Major John Ovens and experienced bushman Joseph Wild explored the country east and south-west of Lake George in New South Wales. After crossing several rivers and the Goulburn plains they arrived at the east bank of the lake, at about 11 miles (18 km) north of the southern end. They struck south-south-east and then west across
4088-438: The required repairs meant that Stirling did not manage to reach the mainland until 18 June, and the remaining settlers on Parmelia finally arrived in early August. In early September a major disaster occurred: Marquis of Anglesea was driven ashore during a gale and wrecked beyond repair. The ship did not break up, as had been expected, but instead survived to become Western Australia's first prison hulk . The first reports of
4161-411: The river because of a sand bar at its mouth, so he sent out a sloop which even then required some dragging over the sand bar. They sailed until reaching mud flats probably near Heirisson Island . They saw some Aboriginal people but were not able to meet any close up. Vlamingh was also not impressed with the area, and this was probably the reason for a lack of Dutch exploration from then on. In 1801,
4234-412: The river was shown to some stockrider by a native, who also confided the aboriginal name, and so it gradually worked the knowledge of its identity into general belief. This theory is the more feasible as the river has retained its native name. If a white man of any known position had made the discovery, it would at once have received the name of some person holding official sway. The river was once used as
4307-412: The sand bar (the sand bar wasn't removed until the 1890s when C. Y. O'Connor built Fremantle harbour). Later in March 1803, Géographe , with another ship Casuarina , passed by Rottnest on their way eventually back to France, but did not stop longer than a day or two. The next visit to the area was the first Australian-born maritime explorer, Phillip Parker King in 1822 on Bathurst . King
4380-434: The scheme had support from Sir George Murray, Secretary for War and the Colonies, and had gained an unstoppable momentum. By this time the team of administrators had been decided and on 31 December 1828, Under Secretary Robert W Hay formally appointed Currie as Harbour Master for the new settlement, on no salary. Currie promptly married and on Sunday, 8 February 1829, he and his wife and their servants were on their way on board
4453-444: The singular change in the river had impressed on them an idea, that we were approaching its termination ... We were carried at a fearful rate down its gloomy and contracted banks ... At 3 p.m., Hopkinson called out that we were approaching a junction, and in less than a minute afterwards, we were hurried into a broad and noble river ... such was the force with which we had been shot out of the Morumbidgee, that we were carried nearly to
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#17332026911974526-405: The site chosen for the town. This was to provide offices for the Colonial Secretary, the Surveyor General, the Harbour Master, the Civil Engineer and the Commissioners of the Board of Counsel and Audit. However, later that year, Currie decided it would be more convenient to make his office as Harbour Master and Postmaster on board the wreck of the Marquis of Anglesea , which had been swept ashore in
4599-401: The southwestern coastline at Bunbury , Augusta and Albany . Edward Gibbon Wakefield used the Swan River Colony to illustrate the importance of combined labour and the danger of a dispersed population. In his Letter from Sydney , published anonomously in 1829, and later in his England and America , published in 1833, Wakefield criticised the Swan River land grants for failing to encourage
4672-402: The suburb Redcliffe . A further grant was located about 6 miles (9.7 km) north-west of Beverley at the junction of the Avon River and Dale River , adjoining a grant made to Stirling. Currie's and Stirling's grants were combined in 1849 to form the Avondale Estate, which was acquired by the state in 1910 and is now the site of the Avondale Agricultural Research Station . Jane Brook ,
4745-420: The wreck of Vergulde Draeck (but still no survivors). They gave an unfavourable opinion of the area partly due to the dangerous reefs. The Dutch captain Willem de Vlamingh was the next European in the area. Commanding three ships, Geelvinck , Nijptangh and Weseltje , he arrived at and named Rottnest on 29 December 1696, and on 10 January 1697 visited and named the Swan River. His ships could not sail up
4818-404: Was a naval station at the mouth of the River Thames and for several hundred years one of the most important commands for the defence of the United Kingdom. During most of the second half of 1828 Stirling was in London, vigorously promoting his dream of leading a settlement at the Swan River . Initial Government reaction was unfavourable, but his persistence and enthusiasm paid off and by November
4891-450: Was allocated 200,000 hectares (500,000 acres), conditional on his arrival at the settlement before 1 November 1829 with 400 settlers. Peel arrived after this date with only 300 settlers, but was still granted 100,000 hectares (250,000 acres). The first ship to reach the Swan River was HMS Challenger . After she anchored off Garden Island on 25 April 1829 and then in Cockburn Sound on 27 April, Captain Charles Fremantle declared
4964-456: Was also the son of former Governor Philip Gidley King of New South Wales . However, King also was not impressed with the area. The founding father of Western Australia was Captain James Stirling who, in 1827, explored the Swan River area in HMS Success which first anchored off Rottnest , and later in Cockburn Sound. He was accompanied by Charles Fraser , the New South Wales botanist. Their initial exploration began on 8 March in
5037-471: Was high praise, but wasted, because later that year Currie wrote to Peter Brown requesting that the Governor grant him leave of absence "to proceed thither" to England because of "urgent private affairs". This was granted on 26 June and on 12 August, the third anniversary of the Foundation of Perth, Currie and his family left the colony on Sulphur , not to return. However, two of his servants, Frederick and Mildred (Kitty) Ludlow, remained. In 1834 Ludlow kept
5110-498: Was in 1852 when the town of Gundagai was swept away and 89 people, a third of the town's population, were killed. The town was rebuilt on higher ground. In 1925, four people died and the flooding lasted for eight days. The reduction in floods has consequences for wildlife, particularly birds and trees. There has been a decline in bird populations and black box flood plain eucalypt forest trees are starting to lose their crowns. Major flooding occurred during March 2012 along
5183-416: Was promoted to Commander on 9 July 1823. In 1822 and 1823, as commander of Satellite , he carried out surveys of channels and port entries on the coast of New South Wales and in 1822 commented critically on the penal colony at Newcastle , reporting "King Lash is master here". He was probably not referring directly to the Commandant of the colony, James Thomas Morisset , but to the number and harshness of
5256-468: Was selected and on 12 August Helen Dance, wife of Captain William Dance of HMS Sulphur , ceremoniously cut a tree to mark the foundation of Perth . Currie was present at the ceremony and later the same day took up his duties, at a salary of 100 pounds, as the first Harbour Master of Fremantle, responsible for pilotage and services at the port. A tent was erected "for the despatch of business" on
5329-471: Was to be rationed. The most cursory exploration had preceded the British decision to found a settlement at the Swan River; the most makeshift arrangements were to govern its initial establishment and the granting of land; and the most sketchy surveys were to be made before the grants were actually occupied. A set of regulations were worked out for distributing land to settlers based on land grants . Negotiations for
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