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Posted by Allen Newton
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21 Aug, 2026
WORK has started on the Port of Albany’s $8.3 million transformation of its historic pilot station.
Local builder Smith Constructions has begun work on the project set to revitalise the heritage-listed Pilot Crew Quarters and Coxswain’s Quarters, along with their surrounding grounds, to help tell the story of WA’s first port.
Southern Ports chief executive Keith Wilks said the project was about creating something that celebrated the enduring contributions of the Port of Albany while providing a new space for the port's regional community.
The Port of Albany Pilot Station sits on the edge of Princess Royal Harbour, overlooking the narrow channel that links the harbour to King George Sound.
This vantage point made it the operational heart of pilotage in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the place where marine pilots lived, worked, and prepared to board incoming ships.
Plans developed for the site by Southern Ports working with H+H Architects include a playground, further landscaping, bike facilities and other amenities. Allowances for mobile catering facilities such as a coffee van have also been included.
“In its heyday, when pilots, port workers and their families were all living within the Port of Albany Pilot Station precinct, it must have been a hive of activity, we plan to bring that family atmosphere back to the site through this revitalisation,” Mr Wilks said.
“Smith Constructions have already delivered on some wonderful heritage projects in Albany and I’m looking forward to this being another one of those.”
The Port of Albany Pilot station precinct housed marine pilots and their families working at the port from as early as 1853 through to 1936.
The site was once a bustling precinct of buildings, including the remaining quarters which were included on the State Register of Heritage Places in 2002.
Ports minister Stephen Dawson said it was fantastic to see work officially underway at the history precinct during the Port of Albany's bicentenary year.
"The Port of Albany Pilot Station played an integral role during a busy period at WA’s first and oldest port, and it will be tremendous to see that unique story highlighted through the delivery of this project," he said.
The revitalised site is set to open to the community in late 2027.
