The Amity
The Amity was a Brig used for several notable voyages around Australia, and landed in Western Australia on December 26, 1826 under the command of Major Edmund Lockyer who established the first European settlement on the Western side of Australia.
Built in New Brunswick in 1816, the Amity was used predominantly as a merchant vessel between America and Britain. Purchased in 1823 by the Scottish Ralston family for their voyage to Van Diemen's Land, eventually landing in Australia on 15 April 1824. Ralston later sold the vessel to the New South Wales government who used it for exploration and supply voyages.
Under instruction from NSW Governor Darling, the brig sailed to Western Australia, anchoring not far from the replica on December 25 1826. On board were Major Edmund Lockyer, 19 soldiers, 23 convicts (mostly tradesmen) together with a small staff and the ship's crew. The settlement was named Frederickstown after His Royal Highness, Duke of York and Albany, Freerick Augustus - second son of King George III. In 1831 Governor Stirling visited the King George sound and changed the settlements name to Albany, one of the Prince's ducal titles.
Discussions began in 1972 to build a replica ship, construction began in 1975 with local boat builder Stan Austin as project supervisor and Pieter van de Brugge as leading shipwright. The full-sized, land mounted replica forms part of the Museum of the Great Southern, overlooking Princess Royal Harbour.
Vessel Information
Type - Brig
Launched - 1816
Tonnage - 148 Tons Burthen
Length - 75 feet 6 inches
Beam - 21 feet 5 inches
Fate - Wrecked on 18 June 1845
Logging Requirements
1. At the location you will see a plaque with the title "Town of Albany". Who unveiled the plaque?
2. What event is the plaque to commemorate?
3. Upload a photo of yourself or GPSr at the location.
Virtual Rewards 2.0 - 2019/2020
This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between June 4, 2019 and June 4, 2020. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 2.0 on the Geocaching Blog.