Edmund Lockyer establishes settlement at King George Sound
- When
- 1826–1827
- Where
- King George Sound
- Episodes
- 4
Major Edmund Lockyer arrived at King George Sound on 25 December 1826 to establish a military and penal settlement. This action asserted British possession of the western part of Australia, previously unclaimed. The settlement, initially named Frederick Town, was a semi-exclave of New South Wales until its transfer to the Swan River Colony in 1831.
Episodes
- Naming Frederick Town
Lockyer named the settlement Frederick Town, but the name did not gain wide acceptance.
- Arrival at King George Sound
Major Edmund Lockyer arrived on the brig Amity on 25 December 1826 to establish a possessory military and penal settlement.
- Disembarkation and Camp Setup
Troops and prisoners disembarked on 30 December 1826, setting up camps and temporary huts.
- Formal Annexation
The Union Jack was raised on 21 January 1827, formally annexing the territory for the British Crown.
Background and detail
Background. King George Sound, named by George Vancouver in 1791, was visited by French explorer Dumont d'Urville in 1826. The New South Wales colonial government dispatched the brig Amity to establish a possessory settlement. This move aimed to forestall French ambitions in the region and secure British claims over the western portion of New Holland, which had not yet been formally annexed.
Establishment. Lockyer's expedition arrived on 25 December 1826. Troops and prisoners disembarked on 30 December, setting up camps and temporary huts. The Union Jack was raised on 21 January 1827, formally annexing the territory west of the 129th meridian east. This act asserted the first official Imperial claim to British possession over the whole continent of Australia.
Naming. Lockyer named the settlement Frederick Town in honour of Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. However, this name did not gain wide acceptance. The settlement and surrounding locality were usually referred to as King George's Sound. In 1831, the settlement was transferred to the Swan River Colony and renamed Albany by Lieutenant-Governor James Stirling.
People involved
- Edmund Lockyer · Commander of the expedition and founder of the settlement
- George Vancouver · Named King George Sound in 1791
- Dumont d'Urville · French explorer who visited the sound in 1826
- James Stirling · Renamed the settlement Albany in 1831
Sources
- King George Sound Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-01
- Albany, Western Australia Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-01
- Edmund Lockyer Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-11
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.