Captain Thijssen had discovered the south coast of Australia and charted about 1, kilometres 1, mi of it between Cape Leeuwin and the Nuyts Archipelago. Vancouver went out of his way to establish good relationships with the local Aboriginal people. The expedition did not enter King George Sound due to bad weather. In , Matthew Flinders entered King George Sound and stayed for about a month before charting the rest of the southern Australian coastline.
By he had completed the first circumnavigation of Australia. During this visit, Casuarina was beached in Princess Royal Harbour for repairs. Major Edmund Lockyer was placed in command of the expedition by Governor Darling on 4 November , and given instructions in case of an encounter with the French, that Lockyer was to land troops to signify to the French that "the whole of New Holland is subject to His Britannic Majesty's Government, and that orders have been given for the Establishment at King George's Sound of a Settlement for the reception of Criminals accordingly".
Lockyer and his expedition left Sydney on 9 November aboard HM brig Amity , with a detachment of twenty troops from the 39th Regiment , twenty-three convicts to assist in establishing the settlement, and six months provisions. Arriving at King George's Sound on 25 December , Lockyer landed ashore early the next day and commenced a survey of the area.
On 30 December the troops and prisoners were disembarked, setting up camp and landing stores. On 21 January , as instructed by the Colonial Secretary, the Union Jack was raised and a feu de joie fired by the troops, formally annexing the territory, in assertion of the first official claim by the Imperial Government to British possession over the whole continent of Australia.
This was the first site of European settlement in Western Australia. Lockyer rescued Aboriginal women from offshore islands, who had been kidnapped by sealers operating in the Great Australian Bight as sexual slaves, and apprehended the culprits, sending them east to stand trial.
