 Soon after the first European settlers arrived at Augusta in March 1831, John Dewar and Andrew Smith traveled to the Swan River on foot, recording the section to Cape Naturaliste in their journal.They seemed to have had little difficulty traversing the country, reporting that much had been burnt, and they traveled alternately on the beaches or three to four miles inland along a ridge of low hills.It took them six days to reach Cape Naturaliste, much the same time that it takes now, though probably in slightly less relaxed fashion, as they started before sunrise, and sometimes marched by moonlight.