by the officers of the Success, in 1827. A large number of names given by the French are still retained and familiar to the ears of Western Australians, but some have been replaced by English appellations, as the Moreau, now the Canning, while others have undergone a process of translation, as Port Two-people.
The Northern coasts were surveyed by Capt. King, in 1820 to 1824, and his work was supplemented by Captains Wickham and Stokes, in the Beagle, between the years 1837 and 1843; the latter completing the survey of Sharks Bay.
The coasts of Western Australia being then sufficiently known, and it having been ascertained that the French had determined to establish themselves there, the Governor of New South Wales, in 1826, sent a party of about 75 persons, principally soldiers and convicts, to occupy King George's Sound, and, the next year, H.M.S. Success, to select a place for a settlement on the West coast, with special reference to the Swan River, off the mouth of which that vessel dropped her anchor on the 6th of March, and the next day the gig and cutter were sent, with their crews well armed, and with provisions for a fortnight, to examine the river, to proceed if possible to its source, ascertain the nature and productions of the country, and fix on an eligible site for a settlement. The boats, having reached Hierrisen's islands, were hauled over the flats, and ascended the river until stopped by fallen timber. In returning the gig was sent to examine the Canning River, and during the absence of the boats, the shores and waters of Gage's Roads had been examined.
Mr. Frazer, the Colonial botanist, accompanied the expedition, and he notices with much pleasure the
