Exploring Albany, WA: a town with a fascinating history

We recently spent a couple of days in Albany at the extreme south of Western Australia. It wasn’t nearly long enough to do justice to the wealth of walking and exploring in the area. This town has such a fascinating history. Our accommodation was near Middleton Beach, so all the walks were close by.

By Barbz Lowther

Middleton Beach. It extends about 4.5 kms from Emu Point in the east to Ellen Cove at the western end. It is a truly beautiful beach – wild flowers on one side, and clear water ranging from palest aqua to deep blue on the other. The sand was white, and squeaky to walk on.

whales as you walk along. Southern right, humpback and blue whales all spend time here during their annual migration. Many calves are born in these waters and can be seen frolicking quite close to shore.

At Ellen Cove a boardwalk extends around the rocky point to whale observation deck, and from there, a gravel pathway leads around a point, past the port and into Albany.

This walk is fascinating. Apart from the stunning sea views, and king skinks skittering all over the trail there is so much history preserved.

The ruins of the house, where the King Point lighthouse keeper and his wife reared a family of eight, still remain. The mind boggles. – just rock and a deep channel close by. It makes our life seem very easy by

Our first wander was around Lake Sepping, a tranquil spot with a circuit walk under shady trees, beside wetlands full of birds. Over 100 species of birds visit here and there are several lookouts and a bird hide.

From here we wandered on to

But unfortunately it’s not like New Zealand where you can run in to the waves to cool off. Sharks are often seen here, so a net at the western end, encloses a small swimming area.

If you are lucky, you may see comparison.

Above left: The ruins of the lighthouse keepers home.

Above right: King Skink .

Below left: Desert mounted Corps Memorial on the summit of Mt Clarence.

Below middle: Statue of Mustafa Ataturk overlooking the entrance named after him.

Below right: At Princess Royal Fort.

Not far past the lighthouse and its ruins was a statue of Mustafa Ataturk, looking over the harbour entrance named after him.

A few more minutes took us to a retired gun emplacement. We soon reached the Port and walked down Princess Royal Drive into Albany and the Great Southern Museum.

We climbed aboard The ‘Amity ’ the boat used to transport convicts from Sydney to create a new settlement here. Conditions were certainly tough !

We wandered back to Middleton, calling in at ‘Strawberry Hill on the way. This was originally a meeting

Above right: Coastal views of King George Sound.

Below right: Derek aboard the ‘Amity’.

place for Menang aboriginal people, and in 1928, the first government farm was established here. It is now managed by the National Trust.

Our next day was spent exploring Albany Heritage Park, an area of 260 hectares including Mt Adelaide and Mt Clarence. This is now a historical landmark but was the first Federal defence of Australia.

In the 1800’s Albany had the only deep water port and the largest natural harbour in Western Australia. Britain made the first official claim to Australia and raised the flag in Albany.

The loss of this port to any enemy, was identified as a potential threat to the whole of Australia, so the Australian states paid for the construction of the Fort and the British government supplied the guns.

The walk from the beach to Mt Adelaide was up a very steep track. The views were spectacular, over King George Sound, Princess Royal Harbour and Middleton Beach. The whole summit was full of trenches, anti-aircraft guns, and cannons, nestled amongst boulders and native bush.

There are two gun batteries dug into the hillside. The walk goes through an underground bunker, into stone-walled trenches, and on to big guns, which were never fired.

Wandering along the tops towards Mt Clarence, we saw the National Anzac Centre, and the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial, which is a re-cast of the original, erected at Suez, using the same granite blocks.

Continuing on, you marvel at the views, and are fascinated with the history of Albany. It was a short, steep track through scrub, to return down to town.

It was an interesting and informative couple of days, but you do need more time to explore all that Albany has to offer.