Leeman is a small coastal town in the Shire of Coorow in Western Australia. Land was first surveyed and sub-divided in 1961 and the townsite was

gazette A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...

d in 1961 as Snag Island, a name that is still in common use. Snag Island is a rocky island a small distance off-shore from the town. The town was named after Abraham Leeman van Santwits, a Dutch sailor. He was second officer on the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

ship ' () which was wrecked in April 1656 just south of

Ledge Point Ledge or Ledges may refer to: * Ridge, a geological feature * Reef, an underwater feature * Stratum, a layer of rock * Ledge, in civil engineering, a type of earthmoving cut * Slang for legend A legend is a genre of folklore that consists of ...

, north of what is now

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. Leeman was sent with a party of seven by captain Pieter Albertszoon to Batavia (now

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

) for help; they arrived there in June 1656. In 1658 Leeman returned as first officer on board ''Waeckende Boei'' in search of the wreckage. He was in charge of the shore party that was abandoned when a storm blew in. Leeman and his crew then took a six-month open boat voyage to Batavia via

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

. In 1971 the Western Australian Education department opened the Leeman Primary School, and the town adopted the new name. The actress Mandy McElhinney grew up in a

caravan park Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel * Campervan, a type of vehicle also known as a motor caravan *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop * Caravan (tra ...

in Leeman. There is a Leeman Football Club.

References

External links

Leeman Primary School
{{authority control Coastal towns in Western Australia Populated places established in 1961 Shire of Coorow