Jean Piere Purry (1675- 1736) was born in 1675 and in 1709 became mayor of Lignieres - the same year his house was destroyed by fire and his wine export business failed leaving him destitute. He then joined the Dutch East India Company as a Corporal and in May 1713 boarded the Prince Eugenius and sailed for Batavia. Purry developed a theory of successful settlements based on climate and latitude and reasoned that Australia might have riches as great as South America. He published these ideas in 1718 in Amsterdam and proposed a Dutch settlement in the Land of Nuyts (South Australia) on the Eyre Peninsular to the governor of Batavia. His ideas were not accepted and Purry then left for France and while living there presented his recommendations to the British Ambassador Horatio Walpole who passed them on to the British Board of Trade. On the basis of his ideas Purry was given permission by the British to establish a colony in Carolina, America with 600 Swiss-Protestant settlers. In 1732 the first group of settlers arrived led by Purry who established the colony of Purrysburg on the Savannah River. The colony did not prosper however and Purry died in 1736 having been succeeded by his son Charles who was killed by one of his slaves .