King George Sound

King George Sound is the name of a sound on the south coast of Western Australia. In Geography a sound or seaway is a large sea or ocean Inlet larger than a bay, deeper than a bight, wider than a Fjord Western Australia is a state occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. Located at 35°02′S, 117°56′E,^[1] it is the site of the city of Albany. Albany ( is located in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, situated around a port on the southern coast

The sound covers an area of 110 square kilometres (42 sq mi) and varies in depth from 10 m (33 ft) to 35 m (115 ft). Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. ^[2] The sound is bordered by the mainland to the north, by Vancouver Peninsula on the west, and by Bald Head and Flinders Peninsula to the south. Although the sound is open water to the east, the waters are partially protected by Breaksea Island and Michaelmas Island. Breaksea Island is an Island in King George Sound in the Great Southern of Western Australia and is South East of Albany. Michaelmas Island is an Island located in King George Sound near Albany, Western Australia. There are two harbours located within the sound, Princess Royal Harbour and Oyster Harbour, each receive excellent protection from winds and heavy seas. Princess Royal Harbour was Western Australia's only deep-water port for around 70 years until Fremantle Harbour, south of Perth was opened. Fremantle (commonly known as Freo is a Port City in Western Australia, located southwest of Perth, the state capital at the mouth of Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia.

King George Sound from Mount Clarence

History

Phillip Parker King's 1818 sketch of Oyster Harbour

Pencil and wash of King George Sound

by William Westall in 1801

Photo of Whaler's cove looking out into King George Sound toward Michaelmas island taken from Vancouver Peninsula

King George Sound was first discovered in 1791 by the English explorer George Vancouver, Vancouver named it after the reigning monarch, King George III^[3]. Admiral Phillip Parker King, FRS, RN ( 13 December 1791 - February 26, 1856) was an early explorer of the William Westall ( 12 October 1781 – 22 January 1850) was an English artist who travelled aboard HMS Captain George Vancouver

The next Europeans to visit the Sound were whalers Capt. Dennis of The Kingston, and Capt. Dickson aboard The Elligood who caught three whales in August 1800. This expedition left an inscribed piece of metal behind to be found by Flinders crew in the following year. ^{[4] [5]}

Matthew Flinders anchored in the Sound for about a month in 1801, during this time Brown (ship's botanist) and Good (ship's gardener) collected samples of over 500 plant species. Captain Matthew Flinders, RN (16 March 1774 – 19 July 1814 was one of the most successful navigators and cartographers of his age Robert Brown FRS ( 21 December, 1773 &ndash 10 June, 1858) was a Scottish scientist who is acknowledged as the leading botanist ^[6]

Nicholas Baudin arrived in the sound in February 1803 aboard Le Geographe to rendevous with Louis de Freycinet aboard the Casuarina before doing further exploration of the West Australian coastline. ^[7] During the course of their stay the ship's naturalist, Francoise Peron, collected 1060 new species of shellfish and a large number of starfish from the sound. ^[8]

Phillip Parker King visited the Sound in 1818 aboard the cutter Mermaid^[9] while en route to conduct a nautical survey of the North West Cape^[10], and Frenchman Dumont d'Urville visited it in 1826 aboard the Astrolabe. Admiral Phillip Parker King, FRS, RN ( 13 December 1791 - February 26, 1856) was an early explorer of the Rear Admiral Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville ( May 23, 1790, Condé-sur-Noireau, France &ndash May 8, 1842,

On December 25, 1826, the British ship Amity, under the command of Major Edmund Lockyer, arrived at King George Sound to establish a military outpost. Events 274 - Roman Emperor Aurelian For the game see 1826 (board game. Year 1826 ( MDCCCXXVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display Edmund Lockyer, 21 January 1784 - 10 June 1860, was a British soldier and explorer of Australia. ^[11] Lockyer named his settlement "Fredrickstown", but this name never gained wide acceptance. ^[12] Instead the settlement and surrounding locality were usually referred to as King George Sound. In 1832, Governor of Western Australia Captain (later Admiral) Sir James Stirling declared the settlement a town and renamed it Albany, but the broader locality continued to be referred to as King George Sound for many years. The Governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of Australia 's Monarch Queen Elizabeth II. Bold text' ]] ==Family background==He was the fifth son of eight of the fifteen children of Andrew Stirling Esq Albany ( is located in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, situated around a port on the southern coast

Until the construction of Fremantle Harbour in 1897, King George Sound contained the only deepwater port in Western Australia, and so was the favoured location for delivery of mail and supplies from abroad to Western Australia. These were then transported to Perth and Fremantle by road or coastal shipping until the early 1890's, when the completion of the Great southern railway provided a quicker service. The Great Southern Railway (GSR was the name of a railway company that operated from Beverley to Albany in Western Australia between 1886 and 1896

In 1914, King George Sound was the last Australian anchorage for the fleet taking the first Australian and New Zealand soldiers, later to become known as ANZACs, to Europe. A memorial to the ANZACs of the Desert Mounted Corps has been established on top of Mount Clarence. The Desert Mounted Corps was a World War I Allied army Corps that operated in the Middle East ( Sinai and Palestine) during Mount Clarence is an inner suburb of Albany, Western Australia, between the Albany city centre and Middleton Beach. Albany was where the first commemorative dawn service was held on ANZAC Day, 25 April 1923. Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar. Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The contribution of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, president of Turkey from 1923 until 1938 is recognised by naming the entrance into Princess Royal Harbour as Ataturk Channel. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (19 May 1881 &ndash 10 November 1938 was an army officer revolutionary Statesman Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

The Cheynes Beach Whaling Company began operating out of Frenchman's Bay that is located within the Sound in 1952 with a small quota of 50 humpback whales that was eventually increased to 175. ^[13] At the peak of the whaling activity in the Sound the company was taking between 900 to 1100 Sperm and Humpback whales in a year. The Sperm Whale ( Physeter macrocephalus or Physeter catodon) is the largest of all Toothed whales and largest living toothed animal The humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae) is a Baleen Whale. Humpback whaling was banned in 1963 which in turn decreased the viability of the operation. In 1978 the Cheynes Beach Whaling Company closed down after increasing environmental lobby group pressure, it was the last whaling station in Australia. ^[14]

Flora

Dense seagrass beds still exist in King George Sound, although they have been adversely affected by increased nutrient levels and industry in the area. Seagrasses (or sea-grasses in British English) are Flowering plants from one of four plant families ( Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Some of the seagrasses present in the sound include Posidonia australis, Posidonia robertsoneae, Posidonia kirkmanii, Posidonia sinuosa, Posidonia denhartogii, Posidonia ostenfeldii, Amphibolis antarctica, Amphibolis griffithii, Halophila australis, Halophila ovalis, Ruppia megacarpa and Heterozostera tasmanica. Posidonia australis is a species of Seagrass that occurs in the southern waters of Australia. Posidonia ostenfeldii is a species of Seagrass that occurs in the southern waters of Australia. Amphibolis antarctica, commonly known as Sea Nymph, is a Seagrass found in coastal waters of southern and western Australia Amphibolis griffithii is a Seagrass found in waters along the southwestern coasts of Western Australia Halophila ovalis is a Seagrass in the family Hydrocharitaceae, a common name is paddle weed. ^[15]

The fringing vegetation around the sound includes both the saltmarshes of Oyster Harbour and Princess Royal Harbour, and the sandy beach vegetation. Saltmarshes contain a variety to species including samphire, seablite, astartea, wattle, greenbush, shore rush, twig rush and saltwater paperbark ^[16] Freshwater species also occur in areas where substantial freshwater seepage occurs. Samphire is a name given to a number of very different edible plants that happen to grow in coastal areas Suaeda is a genus of plants containing species known generally as seepweeds and seablites. Astartea is a genus of the botanical family Myrtaceae. The genus is endemic to the south west of Western Australia Sandy beach areas contain a mix of shrubs and sedges such as the grey white cushion bush, coast sword sedge, knotted club rush, sea rocket, pigface and false caper.

Fauna

The sound comprises a wide variety of habitats that supports an abundance of marine life. Many species of corals are present including Turbinaria frondens, Turbinaria mesenterina and Turbinaria renformis which cover an extensive area. Corals are Marine organisms from the class Anthozoa and exist as small Sea anemone –like Polyps typically in colonies of many Other coral species that can be found include Scolymia australis, Plesiastrea versipora, Coscinaraea mcneilli and Coscinaraea marshae. ^[17]

A large, wild mussel population was known to exist in the sound, and now commercial mussel farms operate within the area that grow and harvest Blue mussels. The blue mussel, Mytilus edulis, is a medium-sized edible marine Bivalve Mollusc in the family Mytilidae. ^[18] It is estimated that 203 species of fish inhabit the Oyster Harbour, Princess Royal Harbour and King George Sound, with Australian Pilchards Sardinops sagax neopilchardus making up 97% of the total fish catch. For the hide and seek-like game see Hide and seek. Sardines, or pilchards, are a group of several types of small Oily ^[19] Other species that are commonly found include Australian Herring, leatherjackets, cobbler, King George Whiting, Tailor, Australian Anchovy, Garfish, Sand Trevally, Tarwhine, Flathead, Tuna, Snapper, Australian Salmon, Yellowtail scad, Sea Mullet, Striped trumpeter, Long-toothed flounder, Dusky morwong and Long-finned goby. The Australian herring, Arripis georgianus, is one of four species within the Arripis genus ^[20]

Seals are known to inhabit the sound in various locations along the coast and on the islands. The species that are sighted most often are the Australian Sea Lion and the New Zealand Fur Seal. The Australian Sea Lion ( Neophoca cinerea) is a species of Sea lion that breeds only on the south and west coasts of Australia. Species that have been sighted, but are considered to be occasional visitors, include the Subantarctic Fur Seal and the Leopard Seal. The Subantarctic Fur Seal ( Arctocephalus tropicalis) is a Fur seal found in the southern parts of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans The Leopard seal ( Hydrurga leptonyx) is the second largest species of seal in the Antarctic (after the Southern Elephant Seal) and is near the top ^[21]

Dolphins are also found in the area, and are occasionally caught and drowned in fishing nets^[22] or stranded^[23]. The common dolphin Delphinus delphis and the bottle nose dolphin Tursiops truncates have both been recorded in the area. Southern Right Whales frequent the area between the months of July and October when they congregate to mate and calve in the protected waters of the sound. The Southern Right Whale ( Eubalaena australis) is a Baleen whale, one of three species classified as Right whales belonging to the genus Eubalaena ^[24] Other whales that have been spotted in the area include Humpback whales ,Blue Whales,^[25] short-finned pilot whales and false killer whales. The humpback whale ( Megaptera novaeangliae) is a Baleen Whale. The Blue Whale ( Balaenoptera musculus) is a Marine mammal belonging to the suborder of Baleen whales (called Mysticeti The Short-finned Pilot Whale ( Globicephala macrorhynchus) is one of the two Species of Cetacean in the Genus Globicephala The False Killer Whale ( Pseudorca crassidens) is a Cetacean and one of the larger members of the Oceanic dolphin family (Delphinidae ^[26] Sperm Whales were known to visit the sound during the whaling era but none have been sighted recently, although a pod was detected further out in the Southern Ocean in 2002. ^[27]

The sound becomes a perfect habitat for migratory wading birds during the summer, when an estimated 2000-3000 birds flock to the area to feed in the shallow mudflats of the harbours. ^[28] Some of the species that can be found during the summer months include the Red necked stint and the red knot ^[29] as well as sandpipers, Grey Plovers, red capped plovers, Lesser Sand Plovers, grey tailed tattlers, whimbrels, common greenshanks, Yellow-billed Spoonbill, White faced heron and stilts. "Sandpiper" redirects here For the 1965 film see The Sandpiper. The Grey Plover ( Pluvialis squatarola) known as the Black-bellied Plover in North America, is a medium-sized Plover breeding in Arctic The Lesser Sand Plover, Charadrius mongolus, is a small Wader in the Plover family of Birds The spelling is commonly given as Lesser Sandplover For the journal of the Australasian Wader Studies Group, see Stilt Stilts are Waders in the same Bird family as the ^{[30] [31]} Other birds that are commonly seen around the sound include cormorants, pied oystercatchers, sooty oystercatchers, pacific gulls, caspian terns, pelicans, osprey, white bellied sea eagles,

Geology

The Western Australian South Coast is formed along the edge of the southern margin of the Yilgarn craton and is fringed with prominant headlands composed of granite and gneisses formed by Proterozoic tectonic activity. The Yilgarn Craton is a large Craton which constitutes the bulk of the Western Australian land mass Granite (ˈɡrænɪt is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, Felsic, igneous rock. Gneiss (ˈnaɪs is a common and widely distributed type of rock formed by high-grade regional metamorphic processes from preexisting formations that were originally Arcuate Bays that contain beaches backed by holocene dunes are found between the headlands. The Holocene is a Geological epoch which began approximately 10000 years ago (about 8000 BC ^[32]

King George Sound includes many islands and some islets, these are all composed of granite with accumulations of soil on most.

Islands of note include:

• Breaksea Island
• Michaelmas Island
• Seal Island
• Mistaken Island
• Green Island

Michaelmas Island as viewed from Mount Clarence

Mistaken Island from near Goode Beach

Seal Island from near Goode Beach

Green Island from Bayonet Head

Oceanography

Point Possession

The tidal range in King George Sound (including Princess Royal Harbour and Oyster Harbour) is 0. Breaksea Island is an Island in King George Sound in the Great Southern of Western Australia and is South East of Albany. Michaelmas Island is an Island located in King George Sound near Albany, Western Australia. Seal Island is an Island located approximately South East of Albany, Western Australia. Mistaken Island is an Island located approximately South East of Albany, Western Australia. Green Island is an island in Oyster Harbour located approximately northeast of Albany in Western Australia. 4 metres (1 ft) ^[33] with spring tidal range of 1. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit 1 metres (4 ft) ^[34] . The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit Tidal levels can remain static for periods of time. Semi-diurnal tides are frequent and diurnal tides are occasional.

The temperature of the water in the sound is slightly different to that of the open sea.

The salinity level within the Sound remains relatively constant ranging between 34. Salinity is the Saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of Water. 8 to 35. 5 '‰' ^[36], the lower levels occuring during heavy winter rain events when large volumes of freshwater enter the sound from the King and Kalgan rivers. "Parts-per" notation is used especially in Science and Engineering, to denote Ratios (relative proportions in measured quantities particularly The King River rises east of the town of Redmond The river flows for approximately and along with the Kalgan River drains into Oyster Harbour north east of The Kalgan River is a River in the great southern region of Western Australia.

The Leeuwin Current exerts some influence in the sound as it flows eastwards along the continental shelf in the main part of the sound. Leeuwin Current is a warm Ocean current which flows southwards near the western coast of Australia. The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each Continent and associated Coastal plain, which is covered during interglacial periods such ^[37]

Shipwrecks

Many wrecks exist within King George Sound, the most recent and best known is the 133 metres (436 ft) guided missile destroyer HMAS Perth that was scuttled in 2001 in 35 metres (115 ft) of water off Seal Island to be used as a dive-site. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit Three ships of the Royal Australian Navy have been named HMAS Perth after Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. The metre or meter is a unit of Length. It is the basic unit of Length in the Metric system and in the International A foot (plural feet or foot; symbol or abbreviation ft or sometimes &prime – the prime symbol) is a non-SI unit Seal Island is an Island located approximately South East of Albany, Western Australia. ^{[38] [39]}

The former whale chaser, Cheynes, was sold for scrap in 1961 and subsequently sunk between Michaelmas island and the northern shoreline of the sound. ^[40]

A wooden Barque, the Fanny Nicholson was being used as a whaling vessel when it was run ashore during a gale in 1872, the remains can still be seen in the shallow water in Frenchman's Bay. Another whaling barque, the Runnymede, met a similar fate in 1881 when it was also driven aground during a storm in 1881. ^[41]

References

See also

Port of Albany

Whaling in Western Australia

Coordinates: 35°02′S 117°56′E / -35.033, 117.933