De Vlamingh, Willem (1640-?), was a skillful and daring Dutch navigator. He was one of the first Europeans to explore the area where the city of Perth, in Western Australia, now stands.
In May 1696, de Vlamingh left the Netherlands in command of the vessels Geelvinck, Nijptangh, and Weseltje. His purpose was to search for survivors of a Dutch East India Company ship that had been lost on its way to Java (now part of Indonesia) in 1694. He also aimed to complete the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman’s survey of the Great South Land, as Australia was then known, and to seek treasures in the South Pacific Ocean.
In December 1696, de Vlamingh visited and named Rottnest Island after what he thought were rats’ nests, because he mistook the small wallabies called quokkas for rats. In 1697, he explored and named the Black Swan River because of the black swans there.
De Vlamingh also surveyed the coast to Exmouth Gulf and landed at various places looking for the survivors. He found a pewter plate that had been left by Dirk Hartog, another Dutch navigator.
