ABOUT US

We Have a Dream to Increase the Awareness of Albany’s Rich Maritime History and Culture, using the Boat Shed Facilities to benefit Local Education and Tourism.

The building now known as the Albany Boatshed was originally used in Fremantle to house the construction of a replica of the Dutch wooden sailing ship ‘Duyfken’ which, in 1606, carried the first Europeans to visit Australia. At the completion of that project, the facility was gifted to the City of Albany in due recognition of the area’s rich maritime heritage and the building was re-erected on the picturesque shores of Princess Royal harbour.

In 1999 the Albany Maritime Foundation (AMF) was established as an incorporated not-for-profit organisation to manage the Boat Shed on behalf of the Albany community. Its objectives are:

• • • To celebrate and increase the local and national awareness of Albany’s rich maritime history
    • To forge links with other maritime and heritage groups throughout Australia
    • To provide opportunities for educational institutions and the wider community to be involved in activities supported by the Association
    • To facilitate the teaching of contemporary and traditional maritime skills
    • To advocate for a permanent facility to house, display and conserve objects that form part of Albany’s maritime heritage
    • To compile and maintain an inventory of objects that form part of Albany’s maritime heritage
    • To work closely with like-minded groups within the Great Southern Region to achieve the objects of the Association
    • To foster and promote displays, festivals and educational activities that reflect Albany’s maritime and fishing heritage and maritime activities in general
    • To manage the facility for the benefit of the Albany Maritime Foundation and the broader community

In pursuit of these objectives the AMF leases space to like-minded community groups and organises and hosts events and activities that support its objectives. Over the years , the Albany Maritime Foundation has provided the perfect venue for the Boatshed Markets on Sundays, for the annual Festival of the Sea in June, and for school functions, educational experiences and many other events. The Boat Shed is the centre for sailboat training for school-age children and adult maritime training and skills development.

Over the years , the Albany Maritime Foundation has provided the perfect venue for the Boatshed Markets on Sundays, or the annual Festival of the Sea, school functions, educational experiences and many other events.  We support institutions like the Museum of the Great Southern, who invite yarns about building wooden ships, singing sea shanties, and fishing the Southern Ocean. Or people who share secrets of wooden boat building. Experts who’ve lent us their invaluable experience with what makes a sound boat, and how craftsmen of yesteryear built ships that could withstand pounding seas. The AMF proudly supports all of these kinds of cultural Albany maritime heritage alive.

As maritime themed festivities come around each year, there will be fun filled family days down at the waterfront between the Boat Shed and the Albany Entertainment Centre. And a fabulous array of activities including the annual Build a Boat Competition and Regatta, water based Come and Try events such as Surf Boating, Dragon Boating, Sailing, Wooden Boat displays to enjoy, a Whaling Boat to explore, cooking demonstrations, food vans and entertainment all day. It’s not to be missed! These are just some of the ways the AMF keeps Albany’s rich maritime flavour flowing.