Rous? Why?
This cache is located on the fringe of the Rous Head Industrial Area, a large area of reclaimed land resulting from Fremantle Harbour deepening in 1988 and 2010. The most recent area adjacent to the cache is 27 hectares being developed for port-related purposes, mostly to support the container trade.
Great, but why Rous Head – who was he or she?
Henry John Rous (1795-1877) was a naval captain and ultimately an admiral in His/Her Majesties Navy – history remembers the bloke as ‘more Bligh than Hornblower’. He spent two years in Australia mapping the coast of NSW in the cutter, Rainbow, but NEVER came anywhere near Fremantle, Western Australia.
So why Rous Head?
Early explorers found two prominent headlands on either side of the mouth of the Swan River – Arthur Head to the south (still there) and Rous Head to the north (long since flattened).
Captain James Stirling did a lot of ‘naming’ around here – including Fremantle in April, 1829 and Rous Head in March, 1827 – he was undoubtedly short on imagination – he often used names of fellow naval captains, colleagues and probably, friends. He named the southern promontory in 1827 for George Arthur, Governor of Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania).