Travel Guide Albany

Situated 415 km south of Perth, Albany is the oldest British colony in Western Australia, then known as King George Sound. Three years older than Perth, it was hastily founded in 1826 to pre-empt any plans for French settlement in Western Australia. The Albany region was nevertheless first visited in 1626 by Dutch explorers aboard the ship Gulden Zeepaert(The Golden Seahorse) led by François Thijssen. At the time, it was some 3,000 km from the nearest colony, Hobart in Tasmania. Much later, in 1791, the English explorer George Vancouver explored the south coast, where he discovered and named King George Strait, then took possession of New Holland on behalf of the British Crown in Albany. The seal and whale fisheries that formed the basis of Australia's first industries prompted whaling companies to establish themselves in the region's prime locations, such as Frenchman Bay. Albany is also a rural center, with huge sheds housing stocks of sheep's wool bales everywhere. The small town center boasts the beautiful Stirling Terrace, slightly overhanging and facing the sea, with some superb Victorian facades. The coast around Albany is nicknamed the "Rainy Coast", a title well-deserved given the frequency of cool, cloudy days, sometimes accompanied by showers, especially in July.