Albany Highway
Albany Highway has always played an important role in transport through the Great Southern region. It was first developed to create a route between the then major port of Albany to the Swan River colony. Today, it is still the major route between the two cities and plays a major role in transport to and from Katanning and surrounding districts.
PERTH – ALBANY HIGHWAY.
CAVALCADE 1831-1939.
Great Southern Herald
24 June, 1939
Sir,
The letters of Hon. H. V. Piesse M.L.C., Messrs. J. H. Norrish and B. S. Ranford in recent issues of your paper concerning a suitable name for the Perth-Albany highway suggest the difficulty which will be experienced in making a selection from the many names associated with its century old history.
Your correspondents make no reference to many names associated with the creation of this important overland route prior to the middle of last century. This is the period March 1831, when Surgeon Collie, by direction of Governor Stirling, assumed control from New South Wales of the little outpost on Princess Royal Harbour founded by Major Lockyer early in 1827.
The cavalcade of pioneers from Captain Bannister (the first to make the overland trip in 1831) to Mr. E. Tindale included Governors, explorers, soldiers, surveyors, engineers, mail men, policemen, settlers; not to mention those nameless men known officially by a number, who toiled sweated and swore in its construction. The brief summary of the road’s history which follows, while perhaps of some little interest to present day travellers, serves mainly to illustrate the difficulty of securing a suitable name from the many so closely associated with its history.
Soon after Surgeon Collie assumed control and Albany was born, a road was commenced towards Perth but by 1833 had only reached a distance of 16 miles. This slow progress moved the settlers in Albany to petition the Imperial Authorities in England to supply convict labour to provide a road giving access to Perth. The petition was ridiculed by the Government in Perth. Some 20 years later it was seen fit to adopt a similar suggestion.
Governor James Stirling
During October-November 1835 Governor James Stirling, accompanied by the Surveyor-General, J. S. Roe, overlanded from Perth to Albany. On the journey particular attention was paid to the portion of the route south of the Hotham River. Consequent upon this trip, stimulated possibly by the Albany Settlers petition to employ convicts, a systematic survey of a road route to Perth was made during July-September 1836. This survey was commenced simultaneously from Albany by Assistant Surveyor Alfred Hillman – from Perth by Assistant Surveyor D. Smith.
In February 1837, Mr. J. Harris led a party overland from Albany to Perth in 12 days actual travelling time. The leader’s journal records having passed through Chorkerup, Thokokup, Mount Barker, Lake Matilda, Kojonup. Williams and Arthur River. In addition to the leader the party comprised Assistant Surveyor A. Hillman, Lieutenant Armstrong and eight soldiers of the 21st Fusiliers. Albany settlers with the party were Mr. Patrick Taylor, Dr. Thomas Harrison and the native “Handsome.”
Early bridge building
Four bridges were built on the Albany end of the road during April 1838 by John Young. In 1839 Governor Hutt travelled overland via Williams and Kojonup on an official visit to Albany. During April 1840 a large party of Albany settlers, led by Assistant Surveyor A. Hillman, travelled overland to Perth visiting en-route Kinunup, Yarenup, Joseph’s Wells, Balgarrup and Mandalup. In the same year Edward John Eyre (who in 1841 made the epic overland trip from South Australia to Albany) overlanded 650 sheep and 70 cattle from Albany to York and subsequently visited Perth.
June 1841 saw established a monthly overland mail between Albany and Perth via Kojonup and Williams, a service which was renewed in 1843, with the contractor being N. Shaw. When tenders were called for the conveyance of mails for 1847 a new route was prescribed; Albany to Kojonup, Kojonup to Bunbury, Bunbury to Perth via Rockingham and Fremantle. The successful tenderer was T. Watson and the means of conveyance was a large spring cart. The same contractor continued a similar service during 1848 and 1849.
On 1st June 1850 the “Scindian” arrived at Fremantle with the advance party of the convict regime which galvanised the whole internal economy of the Colony to life and assured the early completion of the Perth-Albany road.
Towards the end of 1851 Assistant Surveyor A. C. Gregory was instructed by the Surveyor General to examine a direct line for a road from Perth to Albany via Kelmscott, Hotham, Williams and Kojonup. His report submitted in 1852 stated that the new route would effect a saving of 57 miles with that via Bunbury and 40 miles with that via York. During September 1852 the contractor George Maxwell conveyed the miles over the new route from Kojonup to Perth in 4½ days.
In the closing months of 1852, the construction of a new road on the direct route recommended by Assistant Surveyor Gregory was commenced under the supervision of Lieutenant W. Crossman R.E. By October 1853 the road had been completed for a distance of 50 miles from Perth.
During this year the mail contractors between Albany and Kojonup were N. Newstead and between Kojonup and Perth – George Maxwell. During 1854 Maxwell was replaced by Mr. Toovey. The successful tenderer for the overland mail from Albany to Perth for 1859 was Mr. Thomas Chipper who held the contract until 1864.
From 1864 until the opening of the Great Southern Railway in the late eighties, the road remained a main line of communication. With the opening of the railway the road lost its importance until the dawn of the motor age since when it has gradually regained its former importance.
Now it can be asked who will feel qualified to select, with justice, the most worthy name for the highway from the cavalcade of worthies from Captain Bannister to Mr. E. Tindale? In this dilemma the suggestion might be made for the adoption of the name “Roe Highway” to commemorate in some worthy manner Western Australia’s first Surveyor-General, John Septimus Roe.
Strange, but true, and perhaps tribute to his modesty, in the State there is nothing named after him which is really significant of to mention one only of his many important achievements, in opening up, over a period of some 50 years, the long lines of communication in the 1,000,000 square miles of Western Australia‘s territory.
To anticipate any doubt which might possibly arise in the minds of those unfamiliar with the State’s early history, as to Roe’s claim, the following extract from an article entitled “John Septimus Roe” by Cygnet in the “West Australian” of 1st October 1938 should prove convincing:
“John Septimus Roe, as Surveyor-General, was co-founder, along with Governor Stirling of the Colony of Western Australia. For while it was Stirling who wrote Western Australia on the map of Australia, it was Roe, who as a midshipman of 20, plotted its outline and charted its coasts, and later as Surveyor General explored and surveyed its vast internal spaces. It was quite a phantom affair this map of our State when Roe first took it up, almost nude of names and little more than a blank sheet in the atlas of the world. But when he laid it down 50 years later it was studded with towns and villages, criss-crossed with rivers and valleys, covered with hills and mountains.”
Yours etc,
ROBERT STEPHENS
Albany Correspondent,
Western Australian
Historical Society.
PERTH – ALBANY HIGHWAY.
Great Southern Herald
24 June, 1939
To the Editor:
Sir,
The Perth-Albany highway is a long, long road, especially for travellers to whom the different districts are unknown. On one occasion I came through from Denmark to Mt. Barker by the new road with two new-comer friends – English – intending to travel by way of the Perth – Albany railway and its towns as far as Katanning. Our driver over-ran the correct turn and we took the long, lonely road by way of Kojonup.
Why not retain the name Albany Road – but indicate each section clearly by arch or pillar, thus: Albany Road, Hillman Section; or Gregory Section, or Ranford Section, or Roe Section, as the case might be. The turn my friend over-ran appeared to be a mere bush track, without name or fingerpost.
Yours, etc.,
J.M.P.
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