Cheyne Beach Whaling Station, Maritime heritage site in Frenchman Bay, Western Australia
Cheyne Beach Whaling Station is a former whaling facility on the shore of King George Sound, south of Albany in Western Australia. The buildings, made of steel, concrete, and timber, run along a natural rock slope and still house the original equipment from the working years.
The station opened in 1952 and operated as Australia's last commercial whaling facility until it closed in 1978. Its history reflects the gradual end of an industry that had shaped the coastal region around Albany for decades.
Much of the equipment and workflow at the station traces back to Norwegian whalers who brought their techniques and shaped how daily work was carried out. Walking through the workshops and storage areas, you can still see how purposefully everything was arranged around the demands of the job.
The grounds are open to visitors as a museum, with displays spread across several buildings and open-air areas overlooking the bay. The terrain is uneven in places, so sturdy footwear makes it easier to move between the different sections.
One of the more unexpected things on the site is a nearly complete whaling ship that sits dockside and can be boarded. Walking its decks gives a concrete sense of how cramped and demanding conditions were for the crew at sea.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
