| Heirisson Island |
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Information AboutHeirisson Island |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT HEIRISSON ISLAND | |
| islands of western australia | |
| swan river | |
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Prior to development, there were actually two islands, surrounded by mudflats. Over the years, dredging and reclamation has created a single island, which is now a landscaped nature reserve, with a two kilometre walking path. In recent years a colony of Western Grey Kangaroo s have been introduced onto the island. HISTORY The first European to visit the Heirisson Island area was the Flemish explorer Willem De Vlamingh in January 1697 . He was exploring the Swan River in long-boats but only got as far as the Heirisson Island(s) because the mud flats impeded any further progress. Heirisson Island was named after French midshipman François-Antoine Boniface Heirisson , who was on the French ship ''Le Naturaliste'' which was a scientific expedition led by Nicolas Baudin between 1801 and 1804 . The expedition made several journeys up the river from Fremantle in long-boats and made the first maps of the Swan River. The island was named in June 1801 . Captain James Stirling also investigated the area in 1827 just prior to settlement of the Swan River Colony in 1829 . (Appleyard & Manford, 1979) YAGAN'S STATUE In September 1984 the Government Of Western Australia erected a statue of Aboriginal warrior Yagan . The statue's head was sawn off by vandals apparently in some sort of comment about the then current attempts to return the original Yagan head from Britain. EXTERNAL LINKS REFERENCES
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