Follow the coastal path to the memorial south of the Nature Discovery Space, near the Marine Parade-Curtin Avenue junction. View the monument from its public approach.
On 5 January 1697, a party of more than 80 men from Willem de Vlamingh's Dutch expedition landed on the Cottesloe coast and explored inland towards the Swan River. The precise landing place remains uncertain, so the memorial marks the event rather than a confirmed spot.
Designed by architect and Cottesloe councillor Tony Brand, the memorial was unveiled on 5 January 1974. Its large white precast-concrete forms are arranged around the compass points and were described at the time as resembling a modern Stonehenge. The design received an Award for Excellence in Concrete in 1975.
There is another story literally underneath it. The man-made mound covers Second World War defence remains associated with searchlights and the nearby Cable Station. Just offshore, the international submarine telegraph cable connecting Perth with Cocos Islands, Africa and Europe came ashore in 1901, with the former 1926 Cable Station still standing across Marine Parade.
Today the surrounding Vlamingh site is being restored with local coastal vegetation by Cottesloe Coastcare. Add the nearby Nature Discovery (play) Space and former Cable Station and this becomes a compact little walk through several very different layers of Cott history and activity.
Cottesloe Coastcare - Vlamingh
Town of Cottesloe - local history