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Albany & Esperance #1

Join me for Day One of a 5-Day tour to Albany and Esperance in Western Australia, where the first stop was for morning tea at the small township of Williams, 160 kms south of Perth. Then on to Albany for an interesting tour of Whale World which is situated on the site of the old Cheynes Beach Whaling Station, located on the southern coast of King George Sound. The station ceased whaling operations and was decommissioned in 1978. This industrial site has been transformed into a premier heritage tourist attraction taking visitors on a true and often emotional journey, of Australian whaling through the site of Australia’s last whaling station. Complete the day with a visit to the natural granite formations of The Gap and Natural Bridge on the southern coastline in Torndirrup National Park.

Date(s): December 2009. Album by gladysclancy. Photos by Gladys. 1 - 89 of 89 Total. 5452 Visits.
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Itinerary
Casey Australia Tours

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First stop for Morning Tea
The Williams Woolshed is an innovative, interactive and interpretive tourism complex presenting ‘a wool story’.

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Entrance to The Williams Woolshed
The Woolshed combines sheep shearing, regional wines, food, entertainment, art displays, educational programs and retail wool products.

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Historic Agricultural Hall now the Art & Craft Centre

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Historic Agricultural Hall built in 1898

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Sparkling Road Train at Williams Service Station

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Albany Highway at Williams
160 Kms south of Perth.

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Decorated for Christmas
Large Norfolk Island Pine Tree in York Street, Albany.

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Whale World at Albany
Whale World is situated on the site of the old Cheynes Beach Whaling Station, located on the picturesque southern coast of King George Sound in Albany, Western Australia.  The station ceased whaling operations and was decommissioned in 1978.

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Map scan from Whale World Brochure
This international tourist icon is also acknowledged as one of the State's most significant tourist attractions.

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Cheynes IV
Built in Norway in 1948 and given the name 'W.Fearnhead'. Was sold in 1948 to Union Whaling Company in Durban, South Africa and renamed the 'Wilfrid Fearnhead'.

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Cheynes IV
In 1970 the 'Wilfrid Fearnhead' was sold to the Cheynes Beach Whaling Company where they renamed the vessel to the 'Cheynes IV', and stayed with the company up until its closure in 1978. In 1981 it was towed to its present position at Whale World where it is on display.

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Granite Plaque
At a spring in this cove Captain George Vancouver RN watered his ships Discovery and Chatham in September 1791.

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Whale World sculpture

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Historic Anchor

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Scenic view towards Albany

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The Meeting Place for guided tour

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Children's Playground
A Slide inside the Whale's Mouth and Swings suspended from the Whale's Tail.

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King George Sound from Whale World

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Storage Tanks for Whale Oil
Three whale storage tanks converted to theatres now feature presentations including the world's first 3-D animated whale film and a multimedia show.

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Boiler House & Cheynes III Engine
Most plant and equipment was steam driven during the operational days of the station. Two Cleaverbrook boilers located in the boiler room supplied all the steam requirements of the station.

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Boiler House & Cheynes III Engine
Today, the triple expansion steam engine taken from the Cheynes III Whalechaser is on display in the boiler house.

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Approaching the Flensing Deck on Granite Rocks

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Flensing Deck
The Flensing Deck was where the whales were hauled up and stripped of their blubber with extremely sharp flensing knives.

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The Flensing Deck where Whales were hauled up
The Flensers were extremely hardworking men, up before daybreak and working under dangerous conditions.

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The Flensing Deck and Processing Factory
The blubber and whale carcass was stripped from the whale and taken to the upper part of the Cutting Up Deck.

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Coastline beyond the Flensing Deck

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Processing Factory - Cookers
The Processing Factory was cut out of granite and much of the original bush timer still supports the Deck above. With the exception of the lower jaw and teeth, the whole whale was placed in these cookers and cooked under pressure for 3 hours.

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Processing Factory - Cookers
A perforated liner inside the cooker rotated to grind the meat and bone to a paste. This reduced the whole whale to a thick liquid that could then be pumped into settling tanks. Solids were then transferred to the dryer opposite.

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Procesing Factory - Dryer
When the settling process was finished, the oil on top was pumped to the large storage tanks and the solids came through to the large whalemeal dryer.

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Procesing Factory - Dryer
After drying, the meal was ground up and transferred to the top end of the factory for bagging and storage. The drying machine and storage area are very much the same as it was in operational days, just without the smell.

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Towboat
This boat was the first used by the whaling company (under contract) to tow the whales from the whalechasers to the flensing deck (slipway).

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Approaching the Skeleton Exhibit
This exhibit was officially opened on 26 December 2005.

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'Giants of the Sea' skeleton exhibit
Whale Rib Bones form the arched entrance.

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Sperm Whale Skeleton
One of the last whales to be taken in 1978.

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Sperm Whale (length 11 m)
One of the last whales to be taken in 1978, the sperm whale is the only large toothed whale and can dive very deep for its food (giant squid).

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Pygmy Blue Whale
A 22 metre long Pygmy Blue Whale skeleton (the largest whale skeleton in Western Australia).

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Pygmy Blue Whale
This Pygmy Blue Whale beached itself in the Albany harbour in 1973.

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Pygmy Blue Whale

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Humpback Baleen

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Gray's Beaked Whale

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Skeleton Exhibition

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Minke Whale

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Frenchman Bay as seen from Whale World

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Cheynes IV is open for inspection
Length 45.44m; Breadth 9m; Depth 5.1m; Speed 15 knots.

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Warning for Visitors

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Aboard Cheynes IV

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Exploring Cheynes IV

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Looking down on the deck of Cheynes IV

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Masthead of Cheynes IV

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Cheynes IV

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Radio Room of Cheynes IV

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Radio Room of Cheynes IV

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The Wheel of Cheynes IV

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Frenchmans Bay from Cheynes IV

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View of King George Sound from Cheynes IV

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Oil Storage Tanks viewed from Cheynes IV

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View from Cheynes IV

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The Cheynes IV propeller

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Looking up at Cheynes IV

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Cheynes IV

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Cheynes IV at rest at Whale World

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Frenchmans Bay

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Rocky Coastline

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Fish Clean facility

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Seal Island offshore
See the tiny black blob in the water? I accidentally captured a shark!

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Last look at Cheynes IV as we leave Whale World

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The Gap with Green Island on the Horizon
Torndirrup National Park, Albany.

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Waves crash on the Rugged Coastline at The Gap
Torndirrup National Park, Albany.

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Waves rolling in at The Gap
Torndirrup National Park, Albany.

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Sea Spray at The Gap
Torndirrup National Park, Albany.

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View across the Granite Outcrops to the Carpark
Torndirrup National Park, Albany.

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The Gap, a sheer drop to the waves surging 24m below
Torndirrup National Park, Albany.

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Rugged beauty of the Coastline
Torndirrup National Park, Albany.

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Stunted, windswept vegetation
Torndirrup National Park, Albany.

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Granite Boulders
Torndirrup National Park, Albany.

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'All Goes if Courage Goes'
On the night of March 14th, 1978, Stephen Mathews was saved from almost certain death in the waters off this spot. This plaque commemorates the outstanding courage of Paddy Hart, skipper, Keith Richardson, mate, and the crew of the Whale-Chaser 'Cheynes II' and John Bell, aircraft pilot, in making the rescue.

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The Natural Bridge is a natural granite formation
Torndirrup National Park, Albany.

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Coastline near the Natural Bridge
Torndirrup National Park, Albany.

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Coastal Landslide
Torndirrup National Park, Albany.

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Masses of granite weathered by the forces of Nature
Torndirrup National Park, Albany.

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Granite surrounding Natural Bridge
Torndirrup National Park, Albany.

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Green Island beyond the Natural Bridge
Torndirrup National Park, Albany.

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Coastal Granite, Dunes and Sand
Torndirrup National Park, Albany.

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Rugged Coastline
Torndirrup National Park, Albany.

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Dune Vegetation and Granite Rock
Torndirrup National Park, Albany.

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Pathway between the Boulders
Torndirrup National Park, Albany.

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Carpark surrounded by Boulders
Torndirrup National Park, Albany.

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Overnight in Albany
A fantastic smorgasbord dinner and comfortable room completed Day One of the tour.

 
   
 
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