Day 247 – 18/1/2020 on a Midlife Adventure.
There was whiff of a Farmers market so off I head in search of some good buys.
With so many towns having beautiful entrance signs.. Albany, you’re letting the side down.
The first lookout has three levels that make it a little like the tower in Canberra. I think this is a great idea and more places should have lookouts like this.
The view from the top is pretty good though.
Heading into town I have a drive around and stumble on Dog Rock.
Unlike Elephant rock I have no trouble seeing the resemblance here.
Down in the port area I come across my first WA painted Silo’s.
Albany also has a dry docked tourist boat. Unlike SA who whilst I’ve been gone destroyed theirs.
Arriving first at the Open air Saturday Market in the church grounds I have a look around not finding anything. So heading across the road to the cafe I have some breakfast.
Finding the Albany Framers Markets I have a look around and today’s haul is some organic strawberries and some feta cheese. For an area with so many producers I was surprised how small the market was.
The next adventure to test my fitness was the hike up to the lookout at Mount Clarence that is dedicated to the Desert Mounted Corps.
The lookout just behind this gives another good aspect to the region.
After walking back down the hill (and resting) I drive around to the Princess Royal Fortress area.
Inside some of the buildings they have exhibits that demonstrate life on the barracks when the army ran the facility.
The bedrooms were pretty basic.
There is a knitted poppy door that I found very interesting.
There is also the photo of the 11th Battalion on the Pyramids in Egypt, this same picture is just as you enter the Australia War Memorial in Canberra.
Then it was time to start exploring the National ANZAC Centre.
The centre is based here as this was the last part of Australia that many thousands of young men saw before heading to war with the armed forces for the 1st World War ships gathering in the Albany harbour.
On entry you are given a little listening device to hear the stories they have collected and the card of an individual you track throughout the museum to see their fate.
My card was for Lieutenant Joseph ‘Eric’ Piercy. Who like me was born in South Australia making the connection to his story a little stronger.
The story boards in addition to the audio tour really helps fill in the story of the journey from Albany and throughout the war.
The story of Lt Piercy is also on the wall where his efforts of gallantry saved many men and held back the enemy.
There are also some sitting areas for reflection on the stories as you listen in.
In this one there is a water fall that rolls through the names of those 41,265 names as the water trickles over.
After the walk through the museum I find out the fate of my card and he whilst injured twice survived the war.
There is also another lookout here with a view over the harbour where the ships were lined up at anchor before heading to the war.
They also have some gun placements still in position.
These guns only fired once in action and missed their target as they shot too low with the Dutch merchant ship originally being cleared to leave then not cleared they were told to fire on it but due to the confusion missed.
In 2001 the HMAS Perth was sunk in the Albany harbour as a permanent dive site and in recognition of those that gathered there for WWI.
With much to be thankful for the sacrifice of so many for the life we enjoy today leaves you very humble in listening to their stories.
Lest we Forget.
That brings my journey to this region to an end as I continue the travel east tomorrow on this Midlife Adventure.
No Comments