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Fremantle Stuff > Early Days: Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Western Australian Historical Society

History of the Origin of the Town of Albany and its Street Names

Robert Stephens

Robert Stephens, 'History of the origin of the town of Albany and its street names', Early Days, Vol. 3, Part 5, 1943: 43-45.

43

The site upon the northern shores of Princess Royal Harbour now occupied by the town of Albany was, for a period of four weeks, the camping place of Captain Matthew Flinders, R.N., when he visited King George III Sound aboard the "Investigator" during December-January, 1801-2.

Twenty-five years later, acting under instructions from Lord Bathurst, Governor Darling, New South Wales, despatched a party of soldiers and convicts under Major Edmund Lockyer in the Brig "Amity" to King George III Sound to enter into occupation, it being feared by His Majesty's Government that the western half of New Holland was about to be annexed by the French Government.

The "Amity" left Sydney on the 8th November, 1826, and arrived in Princess Royal Harbour on the evening of the 25th December in the same year. At daylight the next day Major Lockyer landed and after an examination of the surrounding country, decided to utilise a site just north of Residency Point (then named by him Point Frederick) between what is now Parade Street and the Albany Bowling Green, north of South Street. Concerning the site selected, writing in his diary on Thursday, 28th December, 1826, Major Lockyer wrote :—

"Having examined both harbours (Princess Royal and Oyster) I am compelled from not being able to find a more eligible situation, to fix on that one immediately opposite where the Brig is at anchor, and where Captain Flinders had his tents pitched at the watering place when he was here in H.M. Survey vessel, the "Investigator."

To this military encampment (it was hardly more) Lockyer gave the name of Frederick Town, after Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, Prince Bishop of Osnaburg, Earl of Ulster, second and favourite son of King George III, and brother of the then reigning King George IV. An examination of such official papers as have been available disclose the fact that the name Frederick Town was never used.

The military camp at King George III Sound remained under the control of Governor Darling, New South Wales, from the date of Lockyer's arrival until its transfer to the control of the Administration at the Swan River Settlement by Proclamation dated 7th March, 1831, from which date until 31st December, 1831, it was, in all official correspondence, both at the Swan River and in New South Wales, referred to as King George's Sound.

During the period of the New South Wales administration very little, if any, improvements were made to the original huts erected by Lockyer and his successor, Captain Wakefield. (Indeed, one of the first official acts of Surgeon Collie on his arrival as Government Resident, was to arrange for substantial repairs to the buildings.) A little land was cleared near the site of the encampment for gardens and for a farm on the spot now known as Strawberry Hill. No street or other surveys were made. There was a bush track from the landing place (Residency Point) along what is now Parade Street, which continued past the western end of what is now the Town Hall site to the farm located on the land now known as Strawberry Hill. There were no private houses or civilians.

44

A careful study of the available official correspondence subsequent to the transfer of the settlement to the control of the Swan River Administration discloses:—

(1) Surgeon Collie left Fremantle in H.M. Bomb Sulphur early in April, 1831, to take up the position of Government Resident, King George's Sound and that he had then in his possession, full instructions for the survey of the streets of the townsite to be. In the matter of the survey, Collie was provided with the assistance of Surveyor Raphael Clint.

(2) That the Lieutenant Governor, Captain James Stirling, resided in the town of the Albany to be during the months of November and December, 1831, and January, 1832. During this period and until the end of May, 1832, the Surveyor General J. S. Roe and Surveyor Ommanney were engaged on the survey of the townsite and surrounding locations.

(3) That the Surveyor General, on his return to Perth, had a plan of the new townsite of Albany prepared which he handed to the Lieutenant Governor for transmission to the Secretary of State for the Colonies.

(4) That all the official and other correspondence available reveals the fact that up to and inclusive of the 31st day of December, 1831, the name of King George's Sound was used and that commencing from the 1st January, 1832, the name of Albany was used.

A most careful and diligent search in the Lands Department and in other Departments has failed to locate a copy of the original plan forwarded to the Secretary for State by Governor Stirling during August, 1832. It is known, however, that a copy exists in the Dominions Office, London, but a reference to it was precluded by the cost. The earliest plan available in Western Australia is one by Surveyor Alfred Hillman drawn during June-July, 1836.

From the cumulative evidence summarised above and from the name given to several streets in the town of Albany in the original survey it may reasonably be presumed that it is named after the same Frederick as Lockyer's Frederick Town, that is to say, after Frederick, Duke of York and Albany, Prince Bishop of Osnaburg, Earl of Ulster. Likewise from the assignment of Town lots early in 1832 and the adoption of the name Albany on all official correspondence as from the 1st January, 1832, that it began its official existence from that date.

The townsite plans used in the investigation of the origin of Albany street names were:

(a) Plan drawn by Surveyor Alfred Hillman, June/July, 1836.

(b) Plan drawn by Surveyor Philip Chauncy, 1851.

(c) Plan undated. Period probably about 1860-65.

(d) Official townsite plan, July, 1915.

The Hillman Plan, 1836.

This plan shows the townsite located north of Hanover and Lockyer Bays, Princess Royal Harbour, in the valley between Mount Clarence and Mount Melville. The names given to the streets are detailed hereunder:

York Street — running north and south.

Streets east of York Street running north and south — Aberdeen Street, Spencer Street, Osnaburg Street.

Streets west of York Street running north and south — Bay Street, Parade Street, Stirling Street.

Streets running east and west north of Princess Royal Harbour — Brunswick Road, Stirling Terrace, South Street, Dundas Street, Frederick Street, Peel’s Place, Duke Street, Earl Street, Gordon Street.

It is generally accepted that the name Spencer Street is after Sir Richard Spencer, R.N., who was appointed Government Resident on the 19th March, 1833, and arrived in Albany on the 13th September in the same year. In this case the name would be unlikely to appear on the original survey made by Roe.

The Chauncy Plan, 1851.

This plan shows only two new street names. They are :

Grey Street — a continuation of Gordon Street westerly and Vancouver Street, a new survey.

45

Undated Plan about 1860-65.

Subsequent to Chctuncy's plan of 1851, the introduction of convicts to Western Australia in 1850 and commencing in 1852 the use of the Port of Albany as a coaling depot by the English Australian Mail Service contributed largely to the growth of Albany north of the original survey and eastward towards Middleton Bay. The Street names added subsequent to Chauncy's plan of 1851 comprised the following :—

Alexander Road
Barker Road
Cockburn Road
Campbell Road
Hanson Street
Marine Terrace
Middleton Road
Sanford Road
Serpentine Road
Spencer Road
Ulster Road
Wollaston Road

The following streets served an area of three-acre blocks reserved for the military Pensioners:

Albany Road (Perth Road)
Lake Street
Low Street
North Road
Pensioner Street
Wellington Street

Official Townsite Plan—July, 1915.

The continually increasing importance of Albany as a port of call for the Overseas and Intercolonial Steamers subsequent to 1852 was crowned by the opening of the Great Southern Railway to Beverley during 1888 and the discovery a few years later of the Coolgardie goldfields. In consequence of this, Albany so flourished and grew that the Townsite Plan of 1915 contained practically the whole of the street surveys that exist today.

In the evolution of the street names subsequent to the 1915 Plan, for the purpose of removing the anomaly of having two or more names for different sections of the same street and for other reasons many names of historical significance were changed. The most important of these were:

Gladstone Street, Gordon Street, Short Street — merged into Grey Street.
Festing Street, Dundas Street — merged into South Street.
Osnaburg Street — renamed Bridges Street
Ulster Road renamed Lockyer Avenue.

With the object of making the origin of Albany Street names available for ready reference, they have been arranged alphabetically in the form of a street Dictionary — a copy of which is attached. Of this street dictionary be it said that its author is fully aware of its limitations. In the research work of which it is the outcome (except in the case of a few streets named in recent years) no official documentary evidence was forthcoming, which would place beyond doubt either the name of the town of Albany or of any of its streets. It is submitted E. & O. E. [errors and omssions excepted] rather as a beginning than as the last word on the subject.

The writer’s thanks are due to Officers of the Lands and Surveys Department, Dr. J. S. Battye (Public Library), R. Houghton, Esq. (Town Clerk of Albany), The late Con. S. J. Basejou, Esq., J.P., and many of Albany's old residents for assistance given in the preparation of the history. Acknowledgment is also made for the use of the following articles published in the Journal and Proceedings of the Society:

"Perth Street Nomenclature," by Doctor J. S. Battye.

"Fremantle Street Names," by Miss K. Caldwell.

(Owing to lack of space the Street Dictionary to which Mr. Stephens refers must be omitted from this issue — although it contains much interesting matter concerning the origin of many of the names given to the Streets.—Ed.)

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