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A small but historically important collection of dried plants made over 300 years ago from Western Australia, then known as New Holland, was bequeathed to the University of Oxford in 1728. The collection, the first authenticated and documented record of the Australian flora comprises 26 extant specimens from the continent, many of them associated with published drawings and descriptions. These plants were collected in 1699 by the Englishman William Dampier (1651-1715), one-time pirate turned privateer, navigator and naturalist. Dampier had first visited New Holland in 1688 but did not collect plants on that occasion. However, he did make meticulous observations of the land, sea, winds, peoples, animals, plants, birds, fish, and other 'natural' things recording them in his journal. He was a keen observer and was able to write narratives well. Privateering allowed him to travel the world to 'indulge his curiosity'.1 Dampier's published writings are said to have inspired the most popular works of authors such as Daniel Defoe (Robinson Crusoe, 1719), Jonathan Swift (Gulliver's Travels, 1726) and Samuel Taylor Coleridge (The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, 1798).2 Dampier's accounts also influenced the travels of naturalists such as Mark Catesby (1683-1749), Joseph Banks (1743-1820), Robert Brown (1773-1858) and Charles Darwin (1809-1882). These eminent individuals took copies of Dampier's books on their expeditions. However, the endeavours of Dampier as a pioneering European botanical collector in the Southern Hemisphere are hardly known. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]