The Colony of Western Australia: from surveys of John Septimus Roe Esq. Surveyor Gen’ and from other Official Documents in the Colonial Office and Admiralty.

Important colonial map of Western Australia by John Arrowsmith dated 1856.

The Colony of Western Australia, was the map which replaced Arrowsmith’s earlier attempt at mapping the colony, which was titled, Discoveries in Western Australia. It has the same plate number, i.e. 36 and includes the original five inset maps found in the Discoveries in Western Australia map but all have been updated and added one further inset of the Perth region has been added at the centre right of the map. The map was printed from 1839 until 1863 in eight states with the new title.

This issue of The Colony of Western Australia, 1856 with publication date of 2nd Hany. 1856 is Prescott’s 1856/2 with the date, ‘Pubd. Jany 2nd 1856. 

Shows 26 counties in the south-western portion of the Colony with explorers’ tracks and profuse notes on landscape and vegetation. Some landholders identified. Includes insets of; Guildford, Augusta, Kelmscott, Perth, Fremantle

Guildford

North-east of Perth shows landholders W. Tanner and J. Stirling north of the Swan River and to the west of the Swan, W. Tanner, S. Dodds, F. H. Byrne, Capt. Picking and N. S. Talbot. The Helena River flows into the Swan from the east. Public buildings and streets named.

Augusta

Plan of the town at the mouth of the Blackwood River land allotments shown fronting Flinders Bay.

Kelmscott

Plan of the settlement shown on the right bank of the Canning River with allotments laid out along the river bank.

Perth

Town plan shows allotments fronting the Swan River. St Georges Terrace named. Large areas of swamps behind the front streets overlie allotments. To the east along the right bank of the Swan are land holdings in the names of P. Brown, W. T. Graham, A. H. Stone, W. B. Andrews and P. Wicks. A burial ground is marked east of the town.

Fremantle

Town plan with streets and land allotments laid out and public areas designated.

The following explorers routes included:
Lt. William Preston, Dr. Alexander Collie, Ens. Robert Dale, Lt. A. Erskine, Capt. Mark John Currie, Govr. James Stirling, John Septimus Roe, John Garrett Bussell, Dr. Thomas Braidwood Wilson, George Fletcher Moore, G. F. Moore and Brown Peter Broun, Lt. Henry William St Pierre Bunbury and Alfred Hillman.

The most significant changes relate to Roe’s 1848 and 1849 explorations east of longitude 118°E travelling south and east from Perth and York to the Pallinup R. and then north- east from the Pallinup R. Towards the Ravensthorpe Hills and into the interior. The Salt R. shown in the 1843/1 state with a supposed course is now shown from its mouth near Pt. Irby to north of the Stirling Ranges. Its name is now the Pallinup R. The river is traced almost to the point of Roe and Stirling’s previous exploration of 1835. Roe’s track also appears along the southern coastline between Cheyne Inlet and Fitzgerald Inlet (119°30’E).

The Discoveries map which was the earlier state of this new title has been extensively revised and includes many new place names including places such as Rockingham, Pinjarra, Picton, Bunbury and Busselton on the west coast. On the south coast Normalup, Rame Hd., Irwin Inlet, Dillon Bay, Bremer Bay and Pt. Hood among others. New rivers flowing to the sea are the Lennox, Vasse and Capel into Geographe Bay and the estuary of an unnamed river east of Pt. Knob. Rugged ranges north of Albany are now named the Stirling Ranges.

The coast line has been greatly altered and many new features are named.

Land allotments appear in the Swan, Avon and Toodyay valleys, near Pinjarra and the Murray River, on the west coast at Busselton and near Picton, waterloo and Williamsburg. Other blocks are shown near Albany and Wyndham and in the Vale of Kalgan.

New discoveries include the tracks of A. Collie in 1832 up a tributary of the Swan River and back via the Swan, this possibly being an examination of the 1500 acres granted to him.

G. F. Moore’s May 1836 explorations are shown north from Guildford to the Moore R. then south-west following the river and thence south-east back to Guildford. A second exploration is shown north-east of Guildford to Northam and beyond with Brown [Peter Broun] in 1836.

J. S. Roe’s journey is shown from Albany west and then north-east before turning north-west in Nov and Dec.1835. Pushing inland J. S. Roe’s track appears Oct/Nov 1836 east of Perth from York to the Glenelg Hills thence north to latitude 31°45’S and from thence westward to the Moore R and thence southward to Guildford.

Tracks of Lt. Bunbury in Oct 1836 between Beverley and Williamsburg shown.

A. Hillman’s tracks from Pinjarra on the west coast eastward to Williamsburg in January 1835 appear, and his route west of Albany towards Pt Nuyts in July 1833.

Lt. W. Preston’s track is shown from Augusta to the north in vicinity of Vasse Inlet in 1831.

The supposed track of convicts overland from Albany to Geographe Bay has been removed.

There are no changes to the map content in the 1839 issues after the first.

In the 1843/1 state of the map the previously unnamed river west of Kojanup (33°50’S/ 117°09’E) now called Balgarup R. Kinnunup appears on Roe’s 1835 north/south return track. A. Hillman’s track completed from north of Williamsburg returning to Pinjarra in Oct 1835.

A. Collie’s April 1831 exploration shown by a loop north-west of Wyndham and north of the Vale of Kalgan.

L. Preston appears on the coast north of the County of Wellington. The outline of Australind is shown west of Waterloo on the Leschenault Inlet. The R. Preston which drains the Henty Plains now shown as the most southerly of three streams flowing north-west to Picton (previously the next most northerly had carried this name). Dalyellup appears on the coast near Picton and Bunbury’s Ford further south.

Stirling and Roe’s journey down the west coast between Peel Inlet and Vasse Inletmarked.

The course of the R. Capel is changed. New mid sections of other rivers in this vicinity appear. A track from Vasse Inlet marked going east to Henty Plains and then north-west to Bunbury is shown.

Also an undated track is shown for Sir James Stirling just south of Bunbury.

In the 1856/1 state there have been extensive alterations and additions. The large inset of the Perth region at the right centre of the map has been removed in order to accommodate Roe’s explorations of 1848-1849. The map does not extend far enough to the east to show the full extent of his explorations.

In the north-west of the map the Moore R. has been traced downstream to the west coast.

A track is shown from the south coast east of Pt. Nuyts which proceeds north to Kojanup.

The eastern part of Wellington County has much extra information.

The undated track going north-west to Bunbury now labelled ‘Roe 1829’. It appears from between the headwaters of the Collie River and the Blackwood River.

In Nelson County, the Blackwood R. has been traced eastwards and links up with the Balgarup R., Beaufort and Hillman rivers which appear to be tributaries of the Blackwood. Blocks of land appear on the Balgarup in the vicinity of Kojanup.

The exploration track by Bannister in February 1831, from Perth to the south coast near Pt. Nuyts has been removed.