1790-1821
In 1790, British explorer George Vancouver arrived on the southern coast of Western Australia. Despite naming King George Sound, various inlets and bays, and mapping the area, he did not encounter any Noongar. But he reported evidence that Noongar were there. He wrote that he found a ‘native village; fresh food remains near a well-constructed hut; a kangaroo that had apparently been killed with a blow to the head; a fish weir across what is now called the Kalgan River; and what appeared to be systematic firing of the land.’[i]
The first impressions of the Wagyl Kaip landscape and of Noongar people were recorded by Phillip Parker King when he visited in 1821 and spent time with local Noongar.