Western Australia from the Latest Documents received in the Colonial Office, 1832.

Rare engraved map of south western, Western Australia published in 1829, only three years after the state became a separate colony.

It is the earliest map to use the official name for the state of, Western Australia”, adopted in 1832 replacing that of the Swan River Colony.

It records the tracks and sightings of the most recent explorations and settlements in the new colony.

This was a time of rapid change for Western Australia. John Septimus Roe had been appointed as first Surveyor-General in 1829 (a post he held until 1871) and had commenced his survey work of the Swan River settlement. Other inland exploration had begun in earnest especially in the south-western corner. Fremantle Harbour had been selected as the settlement’s port and by 1832, some twenty or so inland exploratory expeditions had been undertaken in the region. By the end of the first three years of settlement, a handful of papers discussing all aspects of the emerging colony had been presented to the House of Commons and to the newly formed Royal Geographical Society.

This map, drawn and engraved by the Walkers and was published in 1832 in the first volume of the new series of the The Royal Geographical Society journal. As such, it is one of the very earliest maps to show the newly formed colony at Swan River. The map details all the recent exploration carried out to date in the Swan River, noting the tracks and discoveries by explorers such as the Surveyor-General John Septimus Roe, Ensign R. Dale, Captains Bannister, Currie and Collie and Lieutenant Preston. It has numerous annotations describing in quite some detail, the suitability of the newly discovered lands for agriculture and grazing. Phrases such as ‘rich and beautiful country’, ‘valley of good land’, ‘rich dark loam’ and ‘poor land thickly wooded’ give clear indication of how important it was for the young colony to quickly identify good arable, productive land and to establish farming self sufficiency.

From: The Royal Geographical Society. London. 1832