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Annexation
The British government took possession of the western third of the continent at least thrice.
Wikipedia:
On 29 September 1791, explorer Captain George Vancouver while exploring the south coast on HMS Discovery, entered and named King George the Third's Sound and Princess Royal Harbour, and took possession of [the western third of] New Holland for the British Crown.
He probably said something, but I doubt that there is a record. Which also applies to the occasion when Captain Edmund Lockyer raised the flag again in Frederickstown/Albany in 1827.
Wikipedia:
On 21 January 1827, 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.
Charles Fremantle was next, and some of the words he uttered were apparently recorded.
Wikipedia:
[On 2 May 1829] he hoisted the British flag on the south head of the mouth of the Swan River [at Bathers Bay] and took formal possession in the name of His Majesty King George IV of "all that part of New Holland [Australia] which is not included within the territory of New South Wales."
File:Freotopia people img stirling.jpg
James Stirling arrived in Fremantle waters 2 June 1829, running aground on Parmelia Bank. He landed on Garden Island 3 June, but did not get to the mainland until 18 June, when he landed on Rous Head to proclaim the establishment of the Colony.
Mrs Helen Dance 'cut down' a tree 12 August 1829 on the occasion of the official ceremony of the foundation of the Swan River Colony, commemorated by a plaque set in the footpath of Barrack Street, Perth, at the approximate location, near the Town Hall.
The French government had previously made a claim of sovereignty over the west coast of Australia. An expedition led by Louis Aleno de St Aloüarn made the first European claim at Dirk Hartog Island 30 March 1772. It was not secured by a permanent settlement.
References and Links
de Mouncey, P. E. C. 1928, 'Births, marriages and deaths records of Western Australia, with reference to other states, (Part 1)', Early Days, vol. 1, part 3: 33-45.
Marchant, Leslie 1982, France Australe, Perth, Artlook Books.
Stanbury, Myra 1999, De Saint Aloüarn and the French Annexation of Western Australia, 1772, Western Australian Maritime Museum, Fremantle.
Stanbury, Myra 2017, 'Louis Aleno de St Aloüarn (1738-1772); a forgotten 18th-century French explorer', The Great Circle, Vol. 39, No. 2: 25-55.
This page incorporates material from Garry Gillard's Freotopia website, that he started in 2014 and the contents of which he donated to Wikimedia Australia in 2024. The content was originally created on 18 October, 2020 and hosted at freotopia.org/events/annexation.html (it was last updated on 5 October, 2023), and has been edited since it was imported here (see page history). The donated data is also preserved in the Internet Archive's collection.