Following the 1827 expedition by Captain James Stirling on HMS "Success" to assess the suitability of the Swan River district for a settlement, it was the original plan for the 1829 expedition to use the area around Buckland Hill as the site for a town for the proposed settlement. The expedition's botanist Charles Fraser wrote "These hills are admirably adapted for the site of a town, their elevated situation commanding a view of the whole of Canning Sound, with the adjacent coast, the interior for some distance, and the meanderings of the river. Their lying open to all breezes, too, is an additional advantage." This view, however, was later superseded by Captain Stirling on his arrival with the first immigrants in "Parmelia" in June 1829, by placing the capital, Perth, about from the port.