Willem de vlamingh biography of michael

De Vlamingh's log talks about the island as follows: 'I felt great pleasure in admiring the island, which is a very pleasant place. Here it seems nature has spared nothing to render this isle delightful above all others I have ever seen.

Willem de vlamingh biography of michael

It is well disposed for the support of man, having wood and stone and lime for building houses, and wanting only labourers to cultivate these fine plains where one finds salt in abundance, while the coast swarms with fish. There one hears the chatter of birds, which makes these odorous woods resound with their sweet songs.'

The word 'odorous' is a bit misleading, as in English it tends to mean smelly, De Vlamingh actually meant perfumed.

Next Vlamingh explored and named the Swan River after the large flocks of black swans which inhabited the area. The original name was actually Swartte Swaane Drift, Black Swan River, (quoted as Swaanerivier in some sources).

As black swans were unknown in