The Rocks, also referred to as Government House or Government Cottage, is a residence in Albany in the Great Southern region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. The building was constructed in 1882 for

William Grills Knight William Grills Knight (23 January 1839 3 May 1903) was a prominent businessman and politician who served as the Mayor of Albany in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. Knight was born 23 January 1839 in Fremantle, Western Australi ...

, a prominent local identity, and his family. Knight later served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of the

City of Albany The City of Albany is a local government area in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, about south-southeast of Perth, the capital of Western Australia. It covers an area of , including the Greater Albany metropolitan area and the ...

from 1886 to 1888 and the family remained at the property until 1910, the last owner being his daughter, Mary Knight. The building was sold to Mr Dymes who sold to Mr Butcher in 1910, who made various improvements on the building. The building is set on of manicured gardens situated on the side of Mount Melville and overlooks the town of Albany and

Princess Royal Harbour Princess Royal Harbour is a part of King George Sound on the South coast of Western Australia, and harbour to Albany. On its northern shore is the Port of Albany. The name ''Princess Royal'' also appears in Albany in Princess Royal Fortress a ...

. The

Government of Western Australia The Government of Western Australia, formally referred to as His Majesty's Government of Western Australia, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of Western Australia. It is also commonly referred to as the WA Government o ...

acquired the property in 1912 to utilize as a summer cottage for vice regal dignitaries. During World War I the house was used as a convalescent home for wounded servicemen up until 1921 when the government started using the building again for vice regal visits. By 1937 the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

no longer required the building and it then served several purposes including being used as a school, maternity and general hospital. During World War II it was once again used by returned servicemen, and became a private hospital again in 1941. In 1944 it became a private residence and then in 1950 the building was used as a

hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared b ...

for girls attending Albany Senior High School, with 30 girls taking up residence; this was later increased to 40. The

Country Women's Association The Country Women's Association (CWA) is the largest regional and rural advocacy group in Australia. It comprises seven independent State and Territory Associations, who are passionate advocates for country women and their families, working ...

were managing the enterprise. The building was classified by the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

in 1977, and placed on the register of the

National Estate National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

in 1980. In the early 1990s it was once again briefly used as a hospital. The property is used as tourist accommodation and is the only five star heritage accommodation in Western Australia. The house is important as an example of the restrained architecture typical of Albany and of a large house of the period. It has a

federation A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...

filigree style with seven bedroom, eight bathrooms, billiard room, library with Victorian styling and

jarrah ''Eucalyptus marginata'', commonly known as jarrah, djarraly in Noongar language and historically as Swan River mahogany, is a plant in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. It is a tree with roug ...

floorboards. In 2005 the building received a 50,000 grant from the state government to assist with the cost of conservation work including the replacement of the aluminium windows and doors with jarrah frames.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rocks, Albany Heritage places in Albany, Western Australia Houses completed in 1882 1882 establishments in Australia State Register of Heritage Places in the City of Albany Houses in Western Australia

See also

References