On 1 June 1829 the Parmelia and the Sulphur, under the command of Captain James Stirling, anchored off the wind-swept Western Australian coast. They had come to found a new British colony on the banks of the Swan River. One of Captain Stirling's first tasks was to choose a site for the capital of the colony. He later wrote:

The capital was named “Perth” after the parliamentary seat of Sir George Murray, The Secretary of State for Colonies, and the port town “Fremantle,“ after Captain Charles H. Fremantle, who had taken possession of this part of the continent in the name of His Majesty King George IV on 2 May 1829.

Although it appeared natural to Stirling to site the colony's port at the mouth of the Swan River, it was far from an ideal location because a rock bar blocked the mouth of the river, preventing the entry of ocean going vessels. Ships had to anchor in the exposed Gage Roads and lighter their cargoes ashore. It was then transferred to river craft and ferried upriver or carried by horse and cart over a rough road to Perth. This multiple handling led to delays and, of course, increased the cost of transport. In 1832 the Commissariat Officer, John Lewis, estimated that provisions could be handled up to six times before they reached their destination and that the cost of bringing two tons of flour from Fremantle to Perth, a distance of thirteen miles, “cost as much as the freight from England.”