Sandpatch is a suburb 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 ...

in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, located along the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...

. In the east, it borders the locality of Torndirrup and

Torndirrup National Park Torndirrup National Park is a national park in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, southeast of Perth and via Frenchman Bay Road is south of Albany. Torndirrup National Park has many impressive rock formations on the coast. Thes ...

. Sandpatch is the location of the

Albany Wind Farm Albany wind and Grasmere farms are two wind power stations near Albany, Western Australia, owned by Bright Energy Investments. They are adjacent and are often considered a single facility. They have 18 wind turbines, with a maximum generating ...

. Sandpatch is on the traditional land of the

Minang Minang may refer to: Sumatra * Minangkabau people, an ethnic group in Sumatra * Padang cuisine or Minang food, the cuisine of the Minangkabau people * Minang language, the language spoken by the Minangkabau people Australia * Mineng Mineng ...

people of the

Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian people who live in the South West, Western Australia, south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton, Western Aus ...

nation. In the late 1870s, the Albany Sand Patch, a set of four sand dunes, were identified as a hazard to the

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 ...

, with the possibility of it gradually filling up the harbour being feared. The sand patch started at the shore and extended inland to the west, but its extend into the harbour could also be seen at low tide. Using prison labour, a barrier made from stakes and brushwood was constructed to prevent the sand from moving further into the harbour. Once the barrier was installed, seeds were sown. Despite setbacks in the form of only certain types of plants thriving in the sandy environment and other dying, like 8,000 trees planted in 1883, of which none survived, the problem was considered under control by 1886.

References

{{Towns Great Southern WA City of Albany, Western Australia