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Albany, Western Australia facts for kids

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This page is about the city of Albany. For the local government area, see City of Albany.
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Albany
Kinjarling
Western Australia
York Street Albany.jpg
York Street in Albany
AlbanyKinjarling is located in Western Australia
AlbanyKinjarling
Albany
Kinjarling
Location in Western Australia
Population 34,205 (2018) (43rd)
 • Density 115.091/km2 (298.08/sq mi)
Established 26 December 1826
Postcode(s) 6330
Area 297.2 km2 (114.7 sq mi)(2011 urban)
Time zone AWST (UTC+8)
Location
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 Entertainment Centre 2011 SMC
Albany Entertainment Centre, opened December 2010.
Port of Albany
Port of Albany
Albany Australia 1874
Albany, 1874 by Sir Whately Eliot
York Street Albany WA
York Street in the centre of Albany
St Joseph Albany 2
Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Albany

Albany (Noongar: Kinjarling) is a port city in the Great Southern region in the Australian state of Western Australia, 418 kilometres (260 mi) southeast of Perth, the state capital. 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. While it is the oldest colonial, although not European, settlement in the territory that today is Western Australia, predating Perth and Fremantle by over two years, it was a semi-exclave of New South Wales for over four years until it was made part of the Swan River Colony.

The settlement was founded on 26 December 1826 as a military outpost of New South Wales for the purpose of forestalling French ambitions in the region. To that end, on 21 January 1827, the commander of the outpost, Major Edmund Lockyer, formally took possession for the British Crown of the portion of New Holland not yet claimed by the British Crown; that is, the portion west of 129th meridian east, with the portion east already being claimed collectively by the British Crown as New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land. 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.

Contemporary Albany 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 its 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.

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 a Royal Australian Navy naval installation which provided for refuelling from four 5,100-tonne (5,000-long-ton) fuel tanks.

History

See also History of Albany, Western Australia

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". 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. 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.

Heritage buildings

The following Information is derived from the State Heritage Register 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, Strawberry Hill

  • Old Farm, drawing room

    Old Farm, drawing room

  • St.John's Church

    St.John's Church

  • St.John's Church tower

    St.John's Church tower

  • Albany Court House

    Albany Court House

  • Old Post Office, north front

    Old Post Office, north front

  • Old Post Office, south front

    Old Post Office, south front

  • Scots Uniting Church

    Scots Uniting Church

  • Vancouver House, formerly the Cottage Hospital

    Vancouver House, formerly the Cottage Hospital

  • Town Hall, Albany

    Town Hall, Albany

Geography

Ellencove
Ellen Cove, Middleton Beach, 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.

Wine region

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

Coastline

King George Sound (WA) Westall
King George Sound, painted in 1803 by William Westall
Lakeseppingmtclarence
View of Lake Seppings from Mount Clarence
Emu Point, Albany WA (3099307661)
Emu Point Boat pens and ramp

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:

Climate

Albany has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen Csb) 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 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. 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.

Transport

Albany has a city bus service run by Swan Transit 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.

Localities

Main page: List of Albany suburbs

Sport

Two of Albany's major sports facilities are Collingwood Park Stadium in Collingwood Park and Centennial Oval in Centennial Park. Collingwood Park is home to North Albany Football Club while Centennial Oval is home to Royals Football Club.

Albany Leisure and Aquatic Centre is the home of Albany Basketball Association. The Rainbow Coast Raiders of the State Basketball League played at the Albany Sports Centre (33 Barker Road) between 1989 and 1999. 33 Barker Road is now the home of Albany Indoor Beach Volleyball.

Education

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

AlbanySHS2
Albany Senior High School
GSGgym
Great Southern Grammar Gym
Albany UWA Centre
Albany UWA Centre 2006

Primary schools

  • 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

High schools

  • 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

Universities

TAFE

  • South Regional TAFE

Notable residents

Main :

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Albany (Australia Occidental) para niños

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