Indigenous Australians have well established in the area around Perth by the time European ships started accidentally arriving in the early 17th century. Before the establishment of Swan River Colony, the place in which Perth now stands was called Boorloo.
The first Europeans to find the area where Perth is now located were the Dutch. The first visitor to the Swan River area might be Frederick de Houtman on 19 July 1619 as his records indicated. Due to heavy surf, he didn't land and went northwards. There were a few more visits by European ships but none had good impression on the land, so no one wanted to occupy the land.
In March 1827, Captain James Stirling explored the area with botanist Charles Fraser, who checked on quality of soil before deciding to establish a colony. Captain James Stirling returned to England in July 1828 and promoted the agricultural potential of the area and wanted the establishment of a free settlement. Based on his reports and also news of French planning to establish a colony in western area of Australia, his proposal was approved quickly in mid-October 1828.
On 25 April 1829, Captain Charles Fremantle arrived at Swan River on the ship, HMS Challenger. He declared the Swan River Colony for Britain on 2 May 1829. Captain James Stirling then founded Perth on 12 June 1829, which acted as the administration and political center of Swan River Colony free settlement. Over time, two separate towns of the colony developed, and they became Perth and Fremantle.
The suitable agricultural locations around Perth did not extend very far from the Swan and Canning Rivers. These land locations were quickly occupied by settlers. The area of Guildford was also settled in 1829 as it has the most fertile land.
Since most of the remaining unsettled land are sandy and not suitable for agriculture, Perth had a very slow growth in the first two decades. By 1850, Western Australia had a population of 5,886 while Perth had only 1,400.
Swan River Colony was founded as a "free settlement", but initially the settlers faced difficulties and had to seek help from Britain. Western Australia became a penal colony in 1850 and in this agreement, they had to accept convicts. Between 1850 and 1868, 43 ships arrived with over 9000 convicts. The convicts were involved in building a significant amount of infrastructure and some well known buildings in Perth and Fremantle.
Perth was officially proclaimed a city by Queen Victoria in 1856.
Between 1892 and 1893, due to the gold rushes in Coolgardie and Kalgoorlie, Perth population increased quickly from 8,447 in 1891 to 27,553 in 1901. It was during this booming period where railway lines were constructed to cater the main agricultural regions and the logging industry.
Fremantle Harbour was officially opened in 1897. This harbour provided access to the Swan River for larger vessels.
Driven by the West Australian mining boom, Perth's population grew by 25% or around 346,000 people within the first decade of the 21st century. This made Perth Australia's fastest growing capital!
Posts
