PERTH LOCAL HISTORY

In search of a quick route to the Spice Islands of South-East Asia, seventeenth century Dutch traders were the first Europeans to land in Australia, near the current site of Perth. Captain Willem de Vlamingh is credited with naming Perth's famous Swan River but was apparently disturbed to find black, rather than the European white, swans which he believed to have been corrupted by the land.

However, it was the English rather than Dutch Europeans who settled the area, which had been occupied by the Nyoongar people for over 40,000 years through to the present day.

Following English settlement in the east, Captain James Stirling instigated a colony in Perth in 1829. In the early days the colony struggled, until convicts were sent from Britain in 1850. The convicts provided cheap labour to clear the land, and population and profits began to grow.

In 1886, gold was discovered at Halls Creek. Like many Australian cities, Perth's population and wealth grew with the gold rush.

Great mineral wealth in the state has continued to fuel Perth's strong economy. In the 1980's the city boasted more millionaires per capita than anywhere in Australia - most famously media mogul Alan Bond, who bank rolled the winged-keel winner of the 1983 America's Cup, Australia II.