Day 59 – Albany

This morning, after catching up on some washing, we went for a stroll (2 mins away from our caravan) onto nearby beautiful Middleton Beach. There was a large ship waiting in the harbour. The kids had a play in the van park games room – table tennis and air hockey are always a favourite.

Next up we visited the gorgeous harbour and had a drive around. Albany has the most beautiful harbour, with lots of huge mountainous islands in the bay. We had a quick look in the boatshed market, and bought some fresh apples, before checking out the main street. The architecture is lovely – lots of heritage stone buildings and old verandahs. The city of Albany boasts around 30,000 people, and stretches right around the huge harbour and into the surrounding hills.

 

After a bit to eat at a nice café, we headed up nearby Mt Clarence to the Albany Heritage Park, which is a 260 hectare parkland reserve. Mt Clarence houses the Desert Mounted Corps memorial (depicting WW1 mounted Aus and NZ soldiers), which was brought here from Port Said in Egypt after it was toppled over in the Suez Crisis in 1956.

The views from the top of Mount Clarence over Albany are sensational, and it is a very special place, full of walks and plaques commemorating WW1 servicemen and women from all theatres of war. There are many beautiful poems by Banjo Patterson about the troops leaving Albany in Nov 1914.

Over on nearby Mount Adelaide we walked up the beautifully created Convoy Walk, which commemorates the 40,000 Australian and New Zealand soldiers that left Albany in Nov 1914 (including Brendan’s great, great uncle Cyril Bolle, and my great, great uncle – George Miles). There are lots of plaques of all the different ships that were all anchored together in the harbour. It must have been a splendid sight.

We also had a walk around the Princes Royal Fortress, which was commissioned to protect the point of entry to the distant colony of Australia. It is the oldest surviving military site in WA, and quite interesting. The kids loved clambering over the massive guns and torpedos which have all been restored.

There was also a walk through the gardens, all of which overlook the harbour, and the beautifully sited US submarine memorial  (Still on Patrol). At one time there were 30 submarines stationed here, and many Albany women married the US navy sailors, and returned home with them.

Finally it was time to visit the amazing National Anzac Centre. This includes the main centre and a number of outbuildings, such as a barracks and general store etc.

At the reception centre we were given an audio pen each, and a card containing a photo of a soldier or nurse, and invited to walk through the centre, scanning the pen over different displays, and it would then play a story of that persons involvement in the war. A very clever, interactive experience for everyone, that brought the theatre of war to life for all of us.

 

The sign at the entrance says “In late 1914, 40,000 Aus and NZ troops left King George Sound, Albany for the Great War. Over a third never returned, and many who did bore the scars of their experience for the rest of their lives. This is their story.”

As well as walking around listening and reading all the individual stories, we could search the Convoy list, and see if a relative was among the 40,000 troups that left from here. Brendan found Cyril Bolle and I found my Herbert Miles. Once their names were found, we could read more about the ship they left for Gallipoli on, and see photos of it. Very clever.

 

There were numerous galleries within the centre, including a moving one to the Lighthorse brigade. Each area had absolutely huge picture windows which overlooked the exact place where the convoy ships were moored all those years ago. A wonderful experience for all of us.

After a drive around the other side of the bay (which was about 20km!), we headed back to the caravan park for a nice hot spa. Great facilities and great location here at Middleton Beach Caravan Park.