Charles Symmons was the sub guardian of Natives in the early days of the Swan River Colony. He was an educated man who had a facility for languages and he quickly became proficient in the local dialect of the Nyungar people. In the class structure of the colony he was not regarded as a 'gentleman' and despite his skills was not made Protector - the position was filled by Francis Armstrong. His grammar and word list were published in the 1842 Western Australian Almanack. His spelling and word list have a lot in common with George Grey's early dictionary published in 1840 and and he acknowledges Grey a source. The grammar has only been published in an abridged form as part of Rev. Lawrence Threlkeld's work.
The first eight pages are a small vocabulary; the grammar commences on page 8