Stirling, Sir James (1791-1865), was the first governor of Western Australia. The British government asked him to find a new site for the settlement on Melville Island. Stirling explored the mouth of the Swan River. Largely as a result of his enthusiastic report, the government decided to found a free colony there. In June 1829, Stirling, his official party, and the first settlers arrived in the Parmelia, accompanied by the small warship H.M.S. Sulphur. They established a settlement first known as the Swan River Colony. It was renamed Western Australia in 1832.
Stirling’s arrival during the winter rains and storms was most unfortunate. Further dissatisfaction was caused when much of the land that Stirling had earlier supposed to be so fertile proved to be sandy wastes. Genuine settlers were disappointed at finding the living conditions and work so arduous. Their fears were not allayed when many of their indentured servants began to show a spirit of independence. By this time, too, Stirling had realized that a number of the settlers were land speculators. They intended to make money by buying and selling land, and had no intention of becoming farmers.
Exploration beyond the Swan River was now a necessity. By July, the Canning, Helena, and Collie rivers had been explored, but no large area of suitable pastoral country was found until Ensign Dale crossed the coast south of the Swan River. Dale formed settlements at Bunbury and Augusta.
By the end of the year, the settlement that Thomas Peel was to have made south of the river failed, and the number of vessels that arrived with new settlers added to the difficulties. By 1832, conditions were increasingly serious, and the colony was frequently threatened with starvation.
Stirling returned to England in 1832. He returned in 1834 with a knighthood in recognition of the work he had done in setting up the colony. He was also officially recognized as Governor Stirling.
At Pinjarra in October 1834, Stirling led a group of 24 police, soldiers, and settlers against about 80 people from an Aboriginal group called the Bindjareb Noongar. (Other spellings of these names include Binjarub or Pinjarup and Nyoongar or Nyungar.) From 15 to 35 Aboriginal people were killed. One of Stirling’s men died from wounds suffered at the massacre.
Stirling made a number of journeys of exploration. Most of them were in the company of the surveyor J. S. Roe, who wrote the reports. On June 18, 1829, Stirling traveled from Garden Island to Mangles Bay, and then along the coast to where the town of Rockingham is now located. The same year, he surveyed the land from Melville Waters, approved the site of Perth—though authorities in England desired another place—and journeyed up the Canning River.
Stirling’s main journeys were sea surveys made in 1830 and 1831. These surveys resulted in land being opened for settlement.
On March 3, 1830, Stirling left Fremantle in the Eagle for Geographe Bay. He anchored at the Vasse River and explored inland for a short distance. He then returned to ship and proceeded to Cape Naturaliste by sea. Again, he explored a small section of inland territory. He then sailed along the coast of Geographe Bay. He explored northward to Port Leschenault, the site of the present city of Bunbury. Stirling crossed over the bar of the Vasse River and decided the site was a good one for a military station. He went 10 miles (16 kilometers) up the Collie River and also traced the Preston River for some distance. On March 16, he anchored at the Murray River. But he did not explore the area to any great extent. He returned to Fremantle on the following day.
On April 29, 1830, Stirling left Gage’s Road for Augusta in the Emily Taylor. He explored the land in the immediate vicinity of the present town site and then rowed up the Blackwood River for a day and a half. He returned to the vessel and sailed to Black Point to investigate Flinders Bay from the sea. The party then returned to Gage’s Road.
In November 1831, Stirling went in H.M.S. Sulphur to King George’s Sound. He sailed to Cape Knob, then returned to the sound and went on to navigate Doubtful Island Bay, Torbay Bay, and Wilson’s Inlet. Stirling and Roe led a small land party about 25 miles (40 kilometers) up the Albany-to-York track and into unknown territory and then returned to Albany.
In 1835, Stirling went with Roe on an overland trip from Perth to King George Sound, by way of Williams River. They returned by way of York. On this journey, Roe named the Stirling Ranges in honor of Stirling.
With additional financial aid from the United Kingdom, with the adjustment of the settlers to the climatic conditions of the colony, and with the advent of shipbuilding and whaling, the settlement began to support itself. Stirling retired from his position at the end of 1838 and returned to England early in 1839.
Stirling was born in January 1791 in Lanarkshire, Scotland. He served with the Royal Navy before arriving in Australia. He was later promoted to admiral. He died on April 22, 1865, in Surrey, England.
See also Perth ; Pinjarra Massacre ; Western Australia .
