The black swan was a Christmas present to white men. For it was near Christmas day in 1696 that Vlamingh the Dutch navigator, first set eyes on some of these strange birds in what was later named the Swan River. He could hardly believe what he saw for until then, all known swans had been white. This is the story of the life of the black swans
Notes
Date of publication based on information (retrieved on 25 Feb. 2015) about Margaret Senior, the illustrator, at http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A48467