In the early 19th century, rumours of plans for a French colony in Western Australia drove British authorities to establish their own. In December 1826 the 1st/39th Regiment arrived at the King George Sound Settlement. In 1827, Captain James Stirling sighted the area surrounding the Swan River as being suitable for agriculture, and upon his return to England in July 1828, lobbied for the establishment of a free settler colony, unlike the penal settlements of eastern Australia. The British Government assented, and a fleet led by Charles Fremantle, aboard HMS "Challenger" returned along with two other vessels, "Parmelia" and "HMS Sulphur", including a detachment of the 63rd Regiment of Foot, arriving to establish the Swan River Colony in 1829. In 1831, the 1st/39th Regiment left King George Sound.