Phoebe BowerPrint Page

In April 1834 the Bussell brothers, accompanied by George Layman and their servants Elijah Dawson and Phoebe Bower, sailed for the Vasse aboard the Ellen, commanded by Captain Jacob Toby.  There they met two of the Chapman brothers and two soldiers who had travelled overland.  

 

Note : - The region was known as the Vasse, named after a French sailor who disappeared there in 1801. Vasse belonged to a French expedition sent out to explore the coast of ’New Holland’ (as Western Australia was then known) and collect scientific information about its natural history and inhabitants. Two vessels - Geographe, under Commodore Nicholas Baudin, and Naturaliste, commanded by Captain Hamelin - were used for this expedition, which named many of the features along the south west coast of Australia.