History of the Flag The black swan has been associated with
Western Australia from the earliest times. Vlamingh, who
explored the Swan River in 1697, gave it the name on account of
the number of swans found upon it, and for a number of years
after the foundation of the settlement, it was generally
referred to as the Swan River Colony. It is not surprising,
therefore, that the Black Swan should come to be accepted as the
emblem of the State, though no record can be found of any early
official pronouncement on the subject. It was in use in the
eighteen thirties, only a few years after the establishment of
the Colony. It appears on Bank notes, issued in the early
thirties on account of shortage of specie, and on the "Swan
River Guardian" newspaper, first published in 1836; the Royal
Arms, with the Swan below, appears at the head of the first
issue of the Western Australian Government Gazette of 20th
February, 1836. A design showing the Black Swan was selected for
the first Western Australian postage stamps, issu