The Dutch Language

• Dutch is a West Germanic language spoken by about 24 million people, mainly in the Netherlands and Belgium.
• It is closely related to both English and German.
• Dutch has a rich history, with its roots tracing back to Old Frankish around AD 450–500.

About La Perouse

La Perouse is a suburb in south-eastern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The suburb of La Perouse is located about 14 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the City of Randwick. The La Perouse peninsula is the northern headland of Botany Bay. It is notable for its old military outpost at Bare Island and the Botany Bay National Park. Congwong Bay Beach, Little Congwong Beach, and the beach at Frenchmans Bay provide protected swimming areas in Botany Bay. La Perouse is one of few Sydney suburbs with a French name, others being Sans Souci, Engadine and Vaucluse.

Kurnell is located opposite, on the southern headland of Botany Bay. La Perouse was named after the French navigator Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse (1741–88), who landed on the northern shore of Botany Bay west of Bare Island in January 1788 only days after Captain Arthur Phillip and the first fleet of convicts arrived in Australia . Louis XVI of France had commissioned Lapérouse to explore the Pacific In April 1770 James Cook's expedition had sailed onto the east coast of Australia whilst exploring the south Pacific searching for Terra Australis or ‘Land of the South’.

Upon King Louis XVI's orders, Lapérouse departed Brest, France, in command of Astrolabe and Boussole on 1 August 1785 on a scientific voyage of the Pacific Inspired by the voyages of Cook. La Perouse in Sydney's south is named after the leader of this French expedition.

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