Albany is a city on the south coast of Western Australia, 408 kilometres southeast of Perth. Its estimated population in 2005 was 31,981.
Albany is the oldest continuous settlement in Western Australia, and was founded in 1826, three years before the state capital of Perth. The King George Sound settlement was a hastily-despatched British military outpost, intended to forestall any plans by France for settlements in Western Australia.
The first European explorers to visit the area around Albany were on the Dutch ship Gulden Zeepaert (Golden Seahorse) skippered by Francois Thijssen in 1626. They sailed along the south coast towards South Australia.