Whaling in Western Australia was one of the first viable industries established in the Swan River Colony following the arrival of British settlers in 1829. The industry had numerous ups and downs until the last whaling station closed in Albany in 1978.© Wikipedia
Would you like to enter your own description & more? It's free, click HERE.
Contact detailsE: reception@discoverybay.com.auP: 08 9844 4021
The Discovery Bay Tourism Experience is about 30 minutes drive from the centre of Albany along the Frenchman Bay Road and Whaling Station Road - on the coast of King George Sound. It is open seven days a week and you will need plenty of time to visit the Australian Wildlife and Botanic Gardens as well as the Historic Whaling Station (previously known as Whale World). We allowed several hours and only managed to see the Whaling Station - we will have to go back one day to see the rest.
This is the site of the old Cheynes Beach Whaling Company which has been turned into a museum showing the history of whaling in the area. There is an actual whaling ship in the grounds and you can climb aboard to see what life was like aboard this vessel. Guided tours are available throughout the day, or you can just wonder around on your own - armed with a map of course.
Small theatres have been created inside the whale-oil storage tanks - quite fascinating. There are plenty of signs around the place giving you information on the type of work that was done at each location. Pictures on the walls show the men in action processing the whales that had been captured. The largest shed contains skeletons of whales - the biggest on display is a Pygmy Blue Whale that was washed up onto the beach and died - this is huge.
There is great cafe within the main building of the Historic Whaling Station and they serve very nice looking lunches and great scones. The gift shop is also worth a look before you leave - plenty of educational books as well as souvenirs.