David Bras Francisco (22 February 1841 – 29 April 1888) was a member of the

La Grange expedition The La Grange expedition was an expedition in 1865 to the vicinity of Lagrange Bay in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Led by Maitland Brown, the expedition initially searched for three settlers who had failed to return from an earlie ...

of 1864, which searched for three men missing in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Born in Western Australia on 22 February 1841, Francisco left Western Australia in February 1852 on the ''Dido'', but returned in March 1861 on the ''Dolphin''. He worked as an

auctioneer An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

and

estate agent An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting, or management of properties and other buildings. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent. Estate agents are mainly engaged i ...

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

. In 1864, Francisco travelled to the north west of Western Australia on the ''Clarence Packet''. The primary charter of the ''Clarence Packet'' was to aid in the execution of the La Grange expedition in search of three missing men,

Frederick Panter Frederick Kennedy Panter (1836 – 13 November 1864) was a police officer, pastoralist and explorer in colonial Western Australia. While exploring in the Kimberley region of Western Australia in 1864, he was killed by Aboriginal Australians. Bi ...

, James Harding and William Goldwyer. Francisco fell in with the party, and ended up a participant in the expedition. His diary remains a valuable independent record of the expedition. In 1867, Francisco became a foundation member of the Fremantle Town Council, serving until 1875. In 1868 he married Ellen Hillman; they would have five children. He died in 1888.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Francisco, David Bras 1841 births 1888 deaths Explorers of Western Australia Western Australian local councillors People associated with massacres of Indigenous Australians People from Fremantle Australian auctioneers 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century Australian businesspeople