Swan River Settlement
William de Vlamingh
A Dutchman, William de Vlamingh, was sent to our shores in 1696 to look for a lost ship. He found an island and named it Rottnest after the quokkas which he thought were rats. He then led a party to the mainland. Here he discovered and explored a river on which lived many black swans. Vlamingh called it the Black Swan River.
Vlamingh later found Dirk Hartog's plate. He replaced it with one of his own and took the original back to Holland.