Albany has arguably played the most significant role in Australia’s military actions and history . It was from the Royal Princess
Harbour in November 1914 that a fleet of ships assembled to take Australian and New Zealander (Anzac) troops to war in World War One.
Many troops had their last view of their mother country as they sailed from this harbour.. These ships carried many men and some carried nearly 500 horses.The convoy was initially bound for England for further training, but they were redirected to Egypt instead. In those days, the British controlled Egypt and their presence was to help protect the strategically vital Suez Canal from potential Turkish attacks. After training and reorganisation in Egypt, the troops sailed for Gallipoli, Turkey, where they landed on 25 April 1915.
The first two troopship convoys that gathered in King George Sound at Albany consisted of a total of 67 transport ships, split as follows:
A First Convoy that departed on 1 November 1914 with 48 transport ships. This included 38 ships that initially gathered in Albany (28 Australian and 10 New Zealand transports), plus an additional 2 Australian transports that joined from Fremantle. They were heavily protected by 4 warship escorts (HMAS Sydney, HMAS Melbourne, HMS Minotaur, and the Japanese cruiser HIJMS Ibuki).
A plaque at the lookout shows the location of these ships when they were anchored in the harbour. The small island on the horizon is the location of a lighthouse that features in my friend Dianne’s book ‘Lighthouse Girl’.
A second convoy departed on 31 December 1914 with 19 transport ships. This consisted of 16 Australian and 3 New Zealand transports. They were accompanied by a single military escort, the submarine HMAS AE2.
It was on a later voyage of one of those ships – HMAT Afric, that that my grandfather left for Egypt in 1916. He was in a reinforcement unit but reassigned in Egypt to the 57th Battalion in which he served on the Western Front at the Somme (France).
Following her first trip, the Afric was modified to increase her capacity to hold up to 549 troops and 500 horses. She safely transported thousands of Australian Imperial Force (AIF) personnel across five more successful return trips over the next two years. The Afric was sunk by a German submarine in the English Channel in 1917.
The National Anzac Centre is set within a 250 hectare parkland reserve located in the heart of Albany, Western Australia. It includes the summit of Mt. Clarence and Mt. Adelaide and stretches from the centre of Albany to the shores of King George Sound and Middleton Beach.
One of the memorials in the park is the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial. It stands at the summit of Mt Clarence and contains a recast of the original statue erected at Suez in 1932.
The memorial is the site of Albany’s Anzac Day dawn service on 25 April each year and is accessed by foot via a commemorative staircase that interprets the memorial. Accessible car bays are also available adjacent to the memorial via a sealed service road.
A nearby lookout provides stunning views of King George Sound, Princess Royal Harbour and the City Centre of Albany.
The National Anzac Centre is one of Australia’s most significant museum honouring the Anzac legend. When you ckeck in, you are given the identity of one of 32 Anzac characters and throughout the museum you can check on them as you learn about our country’s involvement in the First World War.
There are many personal storiies throughout the interactive and multimedia displays. I was most impressed by the photos and videos of men in action. They seemed to best show the nature of war and the incredible actions that men (nad women) somehow survived.
One story that really struck me was about the impact of shell shock (now called PTSD). This photo shows men in an English hospital – all with shell shock. In those days it was a misunderstood condition and was regarded as a weakness in men. I’m glad that we now have a more sophisticated view of this condition. It is no weakness at all when you expose people to conditions that are overwhelming and more than a human being can stand. Other than being physically injured, one of the sad outcomes of war is that people are unable to cope with the experience and conditions in which they have served. They suffer from deep pychological trauma.
Outside the museum a path leads to a hilltop. Along the way is a list of the ships in both the firsta and second expedition fleet.
There are also some historic gun emplaements that formed part of the coastal defence of the day.
The area in which all of these exhibits are based is in the the grounds of the original heritage listed Princess Royal Fortress, a pre-federation fortress built to protect intercontinental trade routes. At the time, all main-land Australian colonies contributed to the cost, demonstrating rare pre-federation cooperation between the colonies.
Many of the original buildngs still existv such as the guarhouse and the barracks.
