Albany, Western Australia: Difference between revisions

Albany Western Australia
York Street in Albany
Albany
Coordinates	35°01′22″S 117°52′53″E / 35.02278°S 117.88139°E / -35.02278; 117.88139
Population	33,970 (2015)[1] (42nd)
• Density	114.30/km2 (296.04/sq mi)
Established	26 December 1826
Postcode(s)	6330
Area	297.2 km2 (114.7 sq mi)[2] (2011 urban)
Time zone	AWST (UTC+8)
Location	408 km (254 mi) from Perth 482 km (300 mi) from Esperance 330 km (205 mi) from Bunbury
LGA(s)	City of Albany
State electorate(s)	Albany
Federal division(s)	O'Connor
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall 19.5 °C 67 °F 11.7 °C 53 °F 929.6 mm 36.6 in

Albany /ˈælbəni/ is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. Albany is the oldest permanently settled town in Western Australia, predating Perth and Fremantle by over two years. At June 2015, Albany's estimated urban population was 33,970,^[1] making it the state's sixth-largest population centre.^[3]

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.

Albany was founded on 26 December 1826^[4] 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.^[5]

The area was initially named Frederick Town in honour of Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany.^[6][7][8] In 1831, the settlement was transferred to the control of the Swan River Colony and renamed Albany by Lieutenant-Governor James Stirling.^[9]

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,^[10] however, saw its importance as a port decline, after which the town's industries turned primarily to agriculture, timber and later, whaling.

Today the town is a tourist destination and base from which tourists explore the south-west of the state,^{[citation needed]} and 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. 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.^[11]

The Albany region was home to the Menang Noongar indigenous people, who made use of the area during the summer months for fishing and other activities. They called the area Kinjarling which means "the place of rain".^[12] Many town names in South-Western Australia end in "up" or "ing", which means "place of" in the Noongar language. They would sometimes camp near "Boondie Yokine" – roughly translated as Dog Rock.^[12] Early European explorers discovered evidence of fish traps located on Emu Point and on the French, now the Kalgan, River and a small "village" of bark dwellings that were, at the time, deserted.

The following Information is derived from the State Heritage Register^[13] where these places are registered. The assessment criteria contain more details.

• The Old Farm Strawberry Hill was established in 1827 as a government farm to feed the colonial soldiers stationed around King George's Sound; it is the oldest farm in Western Australia and the homestead is an example of a colonial gentleman's residence. It became the home of the Government Resident in 1883. After a chequered history the property was vested in the National Trust WA in 1964 and is now a house museum.
• St John's Church (1841–1848) is a stone building with shingled roofs in the Old Colonial Gothick Picturesque style. Set among trees, it was designed to be part of an overall contrived picturesque scene in the manner of an English garden landscape.
• Scots Uniting Church (1892) was designed in the Victorian Academic Gothic style by Melbourne architect Evander McIver and built with local granite stonework.
• The complex now known as The Residency Museum was established in 1850 as a depot for the Convict Establishment in Albany. It is an L shaped, single storied, masonry building with a timber framed, timber shingled roof. In 1873 it was converted into the Resident Magistrate's home. It now serves as a museum.
• The Victorian Free Classical Revival style Town Hall (1888) is a two storey stone building with a prominent clock tower, which dominates York Street, the main street of Albany. It has been put to many uses apart from council meetings, including public entertainment and public meetings of all kinds and even as the venue for the first regional meeting of the State Parliament.
• The Old Post Office was built in two stages, the first was designed in 1869 by J Manning, the second, including a prominent tower, was designed in 1896 by George Temple-Poole. It now houses the Albany campus of the University of Western Australia.
• The Court House, constructed of Albany brick and granite with a tiled roof, was designed in the Federation Romanesque style by the Public Works Department under the supervision of George Temple Poole and Hillson Beasley in 1897.
• Another example of the work of George Temple Poole is the limestone and shingle Federation Arts and Crafts style Cottage Hospital, designed in 1886 and completed in 1897. It is one of the oldest hospitals in the state and served as such until 1962. It is now occupied by the Vancouver Arts Centre (named after the explorer George Vancouver).

• Images of heritage buildings
• 
  Old Farm, Strawberry Hill
• 
  Old Farm, drawing room
• 
  St.John's Church
• 
  St.John's Church tower
• 
  Albany Court House
• 
  Old Post Office, north front
• 
  Old Post Office, south front
• 
  Scots Uniting Church
• 
  Vancouver House, formerly the Cottage Hospital
• 
  Town Hall, Albany

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 418 km (260 mi) SSE of the state capital, Perth, to which it is linked by Albany Highway.

Albany is in a sub-region of the Great Southern region of Western Australia.^[14]

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:

• Emu Point
• Middleton Beach
• Frenchman Bay Beach
• Gull Rock Beach, also known as Boiler Beach
• Bettys Beach
• Two Peoples Bay, including Little Beach and Waterfall Beach
• Nanarup
• Misery Beach
• Muttonbird Beach
• Cosy Corner

Albany has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb) with dry, warm summers, mild, wet winters, and pleasant springs and autumns.^[15] 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 144.0 mm (5.67 in). Rain in excess of 0.2 mm (0.01 in) occurs on two days out of every three during an average winter. The driest month is February with a mean of 22.9 mm (0.90 in).

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 113.8 mm (4.48 in) of rain fell in a 24-hour period, the highest amount recorded since rainfall records began in 1877.^[16] The wettest month on record was June 1920 when 292.8 mm (11.5 in) fell, while February 1877 and February 1879 remain the only rainless months.

Albany's main industries are tourism, fishing, timber (wood chips) 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.^[19]

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%^[20] of the city's electricity usage.^[21]

Albany has a number of historical sites including the Museum, Albany Convict Gaol, The Princess Royal Fortress (commonly known as The Forts) and Patrick Taylor Cottage, one of the oldest dwellings in Western Australia, c1832.^[22] 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 HMAS Perth was sunk in King George Sound in 2001 as a dive wreck.^[23] 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.^[24]

Albany is home to HMAS Albany (based in Darwin) and the adopted home port of the Royal Australian Navy frigate HMAS Anzac. Albany is frequently visited by other warships.

Albany has a town 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.^[25]

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.^[26][27]

Albany was served by the Albany Progress passenger train from Perth until 1978. The railway station reopened as a tourist information centre in 1994.^[28]

Albany radio stations include 783 Triple M (formerly 6VA and RadioWest), GOLD MX, Rete Italia, Vision FM, Fly FM Albany, HitFM (formerly HOT FM), ABC South Coast, ABC News, ABC Radio National, ABC Classic FM, Triple J, Racing Radio & Albany Community Radio.

Below is a table showing the broadcast frequencies on which these services can be received.

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 (VAST) system.

Local newspapers are the Albany Advertiser (established 1888) and The Extra, (owned by Seven West Media Limited, publishers of The West Australian), and The Great Southern Weekender, independently owned by Beaconwood Holdings Pty. Ltd. but part of the Fairfax Media regional group. The Great Southern Weekender also owns local radio stations GOLD MX and Fly FM.

There are currently several primary schools, 8 high schools and 1 university in the Albany area.

• Albany Primary School
• Flinders Park Primary
• Mount Lockyer Primary
• Parklands School
• Spencer Park Primary
• Yakamia Primary
• Woodbury Boston Primary School
• Woodthorpe School
• Little Grove Primary School

• Albany Senior High School 7–12
• Albany Secondary Education Support Centre 7–13
• Australian Christian College - Southlands K-12
• North Albany Senior High School 7–12
• Great Southern Grammar K-12
• St Joseph's College K-12
• Bethel Christian School K-10
• John Calvin School K-10

• University of Western Australia
• Curtin University of Technology

• South Regional TAFE

• Albany Progress
• Albany Regional Prison
• City of Albany
• Electoral district of Albany
• Port of Albany

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Albany, Western Australia.

• Albany travel guide from Wikivoyage
• City of Albany
• Albany - Official Tourism Site
• Albany Entertainment Centre
• Albany Historical Society (Inc)
• Albany Tourism Guide along the Rainbow Coast
• National Anzac Centre

• Texts on Wikisource:
  • "Albany (Australia)". New International Encyclopedia. 1905.
  • "Albany". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
  • "Albany (Australia)". Encyclopedia Americana. 1920.