Perth’s
founder Captain James Stirling called the Swan Valley
“rich and romantic country”. To the Aboriginal
people, who inhabited the area 40,000 years before European
settlement, the land inspired dreamtime stories like the
one about the waugal - a monstrous serpent or crocodile-like
creature that formed the Swan River and Swan Valley.
The British settled in the Swan Valley in 1829, and began
farming the fertile banks of the Swan River around Guildford
to grow food for the new settlement.
Vineyards and wineries were established during the colony’s
early years. Later, in the early 20th century, many larger
farms were sub-divided, and migrants from Italy and Croatia
bought small holdings. This fusion of Aboriginal, Anglo,
Italian and Croatian cultures gives the Swan Valley its
unique cultural identity.
Follow in history’s footsteps by visiting Western
Australia’s oldest church, All Saints, built in 1841,
the furthermost point where Captain James Stirling journeyed
up the river during his preliminary expedition. |
