Albany, Western Australia


Albany is a port city in the Great Southern region in the Australian state of Western Australia, southeast of Perth, the state capital. Albany is the oldest colonial settlement in Western Australia, predating Perth and Fremantle by over two years.
The city centre is at the northern edge of Princess Royal Harbour, which is a part of King George Sound. The central business district is bounded by Mount Clarence to the east and Mount Melville to the west. The city is in the local government area of the City of Albany.
The Albany settlement was founded on 26 December 1826, as a military outpost of New South Wales as part of a plan to forestall French ambitions in the region. To that end, on 21 January 1827, the commander of the outpost, Major Edmund Lockyer, formally took possession of the western third of the continent for the British Crown.
During the last decade of the 19th century the town served as a gateway to the Eastern Goldfields. For many years, it was the colony's only deep-water port, having a place of eminence on shipping services between Britain and its Australian colonies. The opening of the Fremantle Inner Harbour in 1897, however, saw its importance as a port decline, after which the town's industries turned primarily to agriculture, timber and later, whaling.
Today as a city it is the southern terminus for tourism in the region, and the state's South West, which is known for its natural environment and preservation of heritage. The town has a role in the ANZAC legend, being the last port of call for troopships departing Australia in the First World War. On 1 November 2014 the Australian and New Zealand Prime Ministers opened the National Anzac Centre in Mount Clarence, Albany, to commemorate 100 years since the first ANZAC troops departed from King George Sound. Approximately 40,000 people attended the commemoration events held between 30 October and 2 November 2014. Also an auxiliary submarine base for the US Navy's 7th Fleet was developed during the Second World War in the event the submarine base at Fremantle was lost. Also in the harbour was an RAN Naval Installation which provided for alongside refuelling from four 5000 ton fuel tanks.

Etymology

Upon its establishment in 1826, the Albany settlement was named Frederick Town in honour of Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. In 1831, the settlement was transferred to the control of the Swan River Colony and renamed Albany by Lieutenant-Governor James Stirling.
The name of the area in the Nyungar language of the local indigenous Menang people is Kinjarling, which has been said to mean "place of plenty" and "place of rain". In 2020, the City of Albany began, as part of an official dual-naming project, to give prominence to Kinjarling as the city's indigenous name.

Early history

Kinjarling was home to Menang Noongar indigenous tribes during the summer season. The Menang people would sometimes camp near "Boondie Yokine" – roughly translated as Dog Rock.
Early European explorers discovered evidence of fish traps located on Emu Point and on the French, now the Kalgan, River. Vancouver made attempts to find the inhabitants of the area but only found bark dwellings that were unoccupied. Later explorers made contact and were told to leave, but were accepted when they did not. Most of the exploration was made to survey the land and sea and assess the resources for further exploitation. The explorers only occasionally noted the Noongars they encountered. Native treatment laws and programs have affected the tribes since settlement.

Heritage buildings

There are a number of heritage buildings in Albany; see List of heritage places in the City of Albany and :Category:Heritage places in Albany, Western Australia. These include:
Some of the above information is derived from the State Heritage Register where these places are registered. The assessment criteria contain more details.

Population

In June 2018, the urban population of Albany was 34,205 making it the state's sixth-largest population centre.
The city centre of Albany is located between the hills of Mount Melville and Mount Clarence, which look down into Princess Royal Harbour. Many beaches surround Albany, with Middleton Beach being the closest to the town centre. Other popular beaches include Frenchman Bay and Muttonbird Island.
Albany is SSE of the state capital, Perth, to which it is linked by Albany Highway.

Wine region

Albany is a sub-region of the Great Southern region of Western Australia.

Coastline

The Albany coastline is notorious for deaths due to king waves washing people off rocks. The Torndirrup National Park features some of the more rugged coastline in the area. However, there are many beaches that are safe and usable:
Albany has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate with dry, warm summers, mild, wet winters, and pleasant springs and autumns. Summers have short spells of very hot weather, but cool ocean breeze brings relief, especially during evenings and nights. The city is situated on what is promoted as the "Rainbow Coast", an appropriate title given the frequency of days with both sun and drizzle or showers. Albany has 44.8 clear days annually.
July is the wettest month, with a long-term average of. Rain in excess of occurs on two days out of every three during an average winter. The driest month is February with a mean of.
Albany received a record amount of rain on 20 November 2008 when violent storms swept across the Great Southern region. The town was flooded after of rain fell in a 24-hour period, the highest amount recorded since rainfall records began in 1877. The wettest month on record was June 1920 when fell, while February 1877 and February 1879 remain the only rainless months.

Industry

Albany's main industries are tourism, fishing, timber and agriculture. From 1952 to 1978 whaling was a major source of income and employment for the local population.
The Whaling Station, which closed operations in 1978, has been converted to a museum of whaling, and features one of the 'Cheynes' whale chasers that were used for whaling in Albany. The station was the last operating whaling station in the southern hemisphere and the English-speaking world at the time of closure.
The Western Power Wind Farm is located at Sand Patch, to the west of Albany. The wind farm, originally commissioned in 2001 with 12 turbines, now has 18 turbines, driven by strong southerly winds, and can generate up to 80% of the city's electricity usage.
Albany has a number of historical sites including the Museum, Albany Convict Gaol, The Princess Royal Fortress and Patrick Taylor Cottage, one of the oldest dwellings in Western Australia, c1832. Albany has a great deal of historical significance to Western Australia.
Natural sights along the rugged coastline include the 'Natural Bridge' and the 'Gap'. The beaches have pristine white sand. The destroyer was sunk in King George Sound in 2001 as a dive wreck. Albany is also close to two low mountain ranges, the Porongurups and Stirling Ranges.
Albany is the southern terminus of the Bibbulmun Track walking trail.
Albany is the southern terminus of the Munda Biddi Trail off-road cycling trail.
Albany is home to HMAS Albany and the adopted home port of the Royal Australian Navy frigate. Albany is frequently visited by other warships.

Transport

Albany has a city bus service run by Love's Bus Service with five town routes. Albany is connected to Perth with road-coach services via Walpole and Bunbury; via Katanning and Northam; via Kojonup and Williams. Transwa coaches also serve Jerramungup, Ravensthorpe and Hopetoun.
Regional Express Airlines, a national independent regional airline, provides 23 services a week between Perth and Albany Airport using 34-passenger turboprop Saab 340 aircraft.
Albany was served by the Albany Progress passenger train from Perth until 1978. The railway station reopened as a tourist information centre in 1994.

Media

Albany radio stations include 783 Triple M, GOLD MX, Rete Italia, Vision FM, Fly FM Albany, HitFM, ABC South Coast, ABC News, ABC Radio National, ABC Classic FM, Triple J, Racing Radio & Great Southern FM.
Below is a table showing the broadcast frequencies on which these services can be received.
ServiceBroadcast frequency
ABC Local Radio630 kHz AM
783 Triple M783 kHz AM
GOLD MX1611 kHz AM
Rete Italia1629 kHz AM
Vision FM 87.6 MHz FM
Fly FM88.0 MHz FM
ABC News92.1 MHz FM
Triple J92.9 MHz FM
Vision FM93.7 MHz FM
ABC Classic FM94.5 MHz FM
HitFM95.3 MHz FM
ABC Radio National96.9 MHz FM
Great Southern FM100.9 MHz FM
Racing Radio104.9 MHz FM
HitFM 106.5 MHz FM

Localised television stations available in Albany include GWN7, WIN Television Western Australia, West Digital Television, SBS and ABC Television Western Australia. GWN7 broadcasts a half-hour news program for regional WA, GWN7 News, at 5:30pm on weeknights with a district newsroom covering Albany and surrounding areas based in the city.
Below is a table showing the full suite of digital television services available in Albany.
These services are broadcast from Mount Clarence and cover the majority of the geographic area with some areas requiring signal to be received from the Southern Agricultural site at Mount Barker. Both these transmission sites employ vertical polarity. Furthermore, a number of residents rely on receiving these services via satellite using the Viewer Access Satellite Television system.
LCNChannel nameBroadcast ch. no.Broadcast frequency
2ABCUHF 43634.5 MHz
3SBSUHF 41620.625 MHz
5NINEUHF 44641.5 MHz
6GWN7UHF 45648.5 MHz
8WINUHF 42627.5 MHz
20ABC HDUHF 43634.5 MHz
21ABCUHF 43634.5 MHz
22ABC COMEDY/KIDSUHF 43634.5 MHz
23ABC MEUHF 43634.5 MHz
24ABC NEWSUHF 43634.5 MHz
30SBS HDUHF 41620.625 MHz
31SBS VICELANDUHF 41620.625 MHz
32SBS WORLD MOVIESUHF 41620.625 MHz
33SBS FoodUHF 41620.625 MHz
34NITVUHF 41620.625 MHz
509GemUHF 44641.5 MHz
559Go!UHF 44641.5 MHz
627TWOUHF 45648.5 MHz
637mateUHF 45648.5 MHz
65ishop TVUHF 45648.5 MHz
68RACING.COMUHF 45648.5 MHz
80WIN HDUHF 42627.5 MHz
8110 BOLDUHF 42627.5 MHz
8210 PeachUHF 42627.5 MHz
83Sky News on WINUHF 42627.5 MHz
84TVSNUHF 42627.5 MHz

Local newspapers are the Albany Advertiser and The Extra,, and The Great Southern Weekender, independently owned by Beaconwood Holdings Pty. Ltd. The Great Southern Weekender also owns local radio stations GOLD MX and Fly FM.

Education

There are currently several primary schools, eight high schools and one university campus in the Albany area.

Primary schools

Notable residents

Wikisource