Historic Whaling Station Discovery Bay Overview

Albany's Historic Whaling Station

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Visit the only complete whaling station tourism attraction in the world!

Looking out from the well-worn flensing deck, the view of King George Sound and its islands is breathtaking. The quiet tranquillity is in sharp contrast to the noisy, steamy, and very odorous scene from its past. The whaling station, which operated here from 1952 to 1978, is now a fascinating historic site, in which the stories of the teams of men who worked on the whaling ships and in processing the catch, bring the place to life. The Historic Whaling Station Collection includes a large photographic collection. Some of this rich visual material can be seen in the Colin Green Heritage Gallery, named after the community-minded businessman who first proposed that the Green Family donate its asset of the abandoned whaling station to the Jaycees Community Foundation to preserve this important industrial heritage. The site, and its fascinating displays, is now one of Albany’s most popular tourist attractions.

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View Collection at Collections WA

Address:

81 Whaling Station Road
Torndirrup WA 6330
Australia

Tel:

(08) 9844 4021

Email:

reception@discoverybay.com.au

Opening Hours

7 days 9am - 5pm

Flensing Knife and Boots

Wearing rubber boots with metal cleats on them, the flenser would walk up over the whale’s body, using the sharp knife blade to cut into the meat. As one of the flensers said, ‘It’s a dangerous sport...

Model of a Whale Chaser

This intricate model of the Cheynes IV vessel, was made by local model boat enthusiast Ian Lunt. The Cheynes IV was one of six whale chasers owned by the Cheynes Beach Whaling Company over its 27...

Sperm Whale Skeleton

This skeleton is of one of the last whales to be caught in Australian waters in 1978. It would have taken two hours for the whale chaser to tow its harpooned catch from the deep waters of the...

Ellensbrook at Mokidup

A place where nature and cultures merge

The Wadandi name for the location of this historic homestead is Mokidup. It was a traditional summer camping spot for thousands of years, and the recent involvement of Wadandi people in the...

Timber Museum Manjimup Heritage Park

As you walk through this museum, with its high curved walls lined with slender strips of hand-cut tuart, it is like being within a tree, surrounded by beautiful wood grain. The building was designed...

Wellstead Museum

The history of the Wellstead family as farmers on the South Coast stretches back over 180 years. The family history is entwined within the vast collection amassed by descendent Max Wellstead, born in...

Katanning Historical Society Museum

Learn about the history of Katanning and the district in the oldest affiliated society in WA.

An impressive set of buildings house items about Katanning's history as a large town, which was also the first place in WA to have electric streetlights. The Katanning Historical Society, founded in...