About the Black Swan

The most interesting thing about the black swan, other than its color, is the reaction it produced in the English explorers who were probably the first Christians to lay eyes on it. The English believed, after having discovered and explored Australia, that the entire continent was one big separate creation from the rest of the world. They believed that Australia was God's first attempt at creation, a sort of practice creation or possibly a mistake. This conclusion was derived from all the bizarre animals and plants the first explorers encountered: the hopping kangaroos, the egg-laying mammals, the relatively deserted and uninhabitable outback, and most especially the black swans. It is quite an intriguing story and one which was told to us by a tour guide a few weeks ago. At this point I would've liked to have been able to point you in the direction of some references to support the tale, however all my efforts of searching the web for something even related to the topic were fruitless. So whether anyone really did think that about Australia at some point in time or not, it is still a pretty interesting story.

As for the black swan, the bird is an icon of Australia and more specifically the state of Western Australia. The black swan is featured on the state flag and in the UWA crest. It is also found in the St. Thomas More College crest, which is just the Thomas More family Coat of Arms but with a black swan replacing one of the moorcocks.