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KGS Featured Artwork
The first artist impressions of Albany, King George Sound through the eyes of early European artists.
The striking natural beauty of Albany and King George Sound has long captured the imagination of artists, explorers and settlers. In the early 19th century, long before photography, a handful of explorers, documented the region through sketches and paintings that remain invaluable historical records today. Among them, were William Westall, Major Edmund Lockyer, Louis de Auguste Sainson, Duncan Cooper and naval surgeon, Isaac Nind—each offering a unique visual perspective on the landscape and life of early colonial Western Australia.
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These early artistic impressions of Albany and King George Sound continue to shape our historical understanding of the region. Today, they are preserved in national and state collections, standing as visual testaments to a time of exploration, contact and transformation on Western Australia’s southern shores.
William WESTALL (1781-1850)
One of the first European artists to depict King George Sound, William Westall was the official landscape artist aboard HMS Investigator during Matthew Flinders’ expedition (1801–1803). His finely detailed drawings and watercolours capture the rugged coastline, indigenous people, and native flora with a romantic yet documentary eye. Westall’s work is considered among the earliest European visual records of the southern Australian coast, providing rare insight into the region’s pristine environment before settlement.
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Title: King George's Sound, view from the north-west, 1801.
Title: King George's Sound, view from Peak Head, 1801.
Title: King George's Sound, part of Oyster Harbour, 1801.
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Title: King George's Sound, looking north, 1801.
Major Edmund LOCKYER, (1784-1860)
As the leader of the 1826 British expedition that established a military settlement at King George Sound, Major Lockyer was also an amateur artist. While his primary role was administrative and military, Lockyer produced several sketches during his time in the Sound. His drawings focus on the newly formed settlement, its topography, and interactions with the Menang Noongar people. Though not as technically refined as Westall’s, Lockyer’s works offer a candid glimpse into the colonial experience.
Title: King George's Sound, 1826.
Isaac Scott NIND, (1797-1868)
Isaac Nind served as assistant surgeon at the King George Sound settlement from 1826 to 1829. Alongside his medical duties, he was a keen observer and illustrator of both the local environment and Aboriginal culture. Nind’s sketches are among the earliest known ethnographic representations of the Menang people, including depictions of tools, shelters and ceremonial life. His artworks, combined with detailed written notes, are crucial in understanding the early cross-cultural encounters in the region.
Title: The settlement of King George's Sound, 1828.
Title: Entrance to King George's Sound, 1828.
Title: Mount Melville and Fredericktown. Princess Royal harbour - King George's Sound, 1827.
Title: King George's Sound, 1829.
Louis de Auguste SAINSON, (1800-1887)
Louis Auguste de Sainson was a French artist and draughtsman best known for his role as the official illustrator on the voyage of the French corvette Astrolabe, commanded by Jules Dumont d’Urville during its circumnavigation (1826–1829). His work is particularly significant in the context of early visual records of the southern Australian coast and during the ship’s stopover at King George Sound in 1826, Sainson produced some of the earliest detailed European illustrations of the landscape and the Menang Noongar people, capturing scenes of daily life, ceremonies and encounters between Indigenous people and the French crew.
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Title: Vue du Port du Roi Georges (Nouvelle Hollande), 1833. Artist: Louis de Auguste SAINSON, Lithographer: LEMERCIER​
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Title: Aiguade de l'Astrolabe au Port du Roi Georges (N'elle Hollande), 1833. Artist: Louis de Auguste SAINSON, Engraver: LANGLUME and LEBORNE
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Title: Vue d'un Etang pres la Baie du Roi Georges (N'elle Hollande), 1833. Artist: Louis Auguste de SAINSON, Engraver: BES and HOSTEIN
Title: Observatoire de L'Astrolabe au Port du Roi Georges vu de la presquile Possession, 1833. Artist: Louis Auguste de SAINSON, Engraver: LAMGLUNE
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Title: Le Havre aux Huitres, dans le Port du Roi Georges (N'elle Hollande), 1833. Artist: Louis Auguste de SAINSON, Engraver: BES
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Title: Habitans du Port du Roi Georges (N'elle Hollande), 1833. Artist: Louis Auguste de SAINSON, Lithographer: LANGLUME and BOULANGER
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Title: Habitans Du Port Du Roi Georges (N'elle Hollande), 1833. Artist: Louis Auguste de SAINSON, Lithographer: LANGLUME and BOULANGER
Title: Vue De La Riviere Des Francais au du Roi Georges a 4 Milles de son embouchure, 1833. Artist: Louis Auguste de SAINSON
Duncan COOPER, (1813/4-1904)
Duncan Cooper was an English born artist, diarist and early settler in colonial Australia, renowned for his vivid visual and written records of 19th century frontier life. Cooper arrived in Australia in 1841, initially landing at King George Sound. His arrival at Albany marked the beginning of his journey across southern Australia, eventually leading him to the Western District of Victoria. Cooper was part of a group of squatters who established sheep runs in Victoria and he became best known for his Challicum Sketch Book (1842–1853), a remarkable collection of watercolours and notes that document the landscape, Aboriginal people, settler life and natural environment around the Challicum station near Fiery Creek. His work provides a rare and detailed snapshot of early colonial pastoral life. His artistic legacy remains significant, offering valuable insights into the colonial experience and Australia’s environmental and cultural history in the mid-1800s, including his brief but notable connection to the port town of Albany, Western Australia.​
Title: King George Sound and entrance to Princess Royal Harbour, 1854. Artist: Duncan Elphinstone COOPER
Title: Princess Royal Harbour, 1854. Artist: Duncan Elphinstone COOPER
Title: Albany, King Georges Sound, Feb. 22, 1854. Artist: Duncan Elphinstone COOPER
Title: Harbour of Albany, King Georges Sound, Feb. 22, 1854. Artist: Duncan Elphinstone COOPER
Title: Stones near Albany, King Georges Sound, Feb. 23, 1854. Artist: Duncan Elphinstone COOPER
Lieut. Robert DALE (1812–1853)
Robert Dale was a British military officer, surveyor and explorer who played a significant role in the early mapping and documentation of Western Australia. As a lieutenant in the 63rd Regiment, Dale arrived in the Swan River Colony in 1829 and was soon tasked with surveying unexplored regions. Dale was assigned to the Surveyor General's department and spent four years in the colony. During the period he was stationed at King George Sound and was an experienced topographic surveyor and cartographer with military training in field sketching.
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Dale is perhaps best remembered for producing one of the earliest panoramic views of inland Western Australia. His 1834 panoramic lithograph, "Panoramic View of King George's Sound, Part of the Colony of Swan River", is a panoramic hand coloured print published in 1834 by Robert Havell, which originated with the sketches made by Robert Dale from the summit of Mount Clarence. The work was later published in London and became one of the most iconic early European visual representations of the region.
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Dale’s panorama also includes depictions of Menang Noongar people, interactions between Indigenous Australians and settlers and elements of colonial infrastructure. Though influenced by the colonial gaze of the time, his work remains a vital historical document, combining artistic ambition with topographical accuracy. It shows Princess Royal Harbour where the main settlement was established and to the left of that, King George Sound and Oyster Harbour. The group of soldiers and Menang people on the right, make up a party returning from a kangaroo hunt. Nakina, chief of the King George Sound mob, lived most of the time at the settlement, but eventually rejoined his people. It is believed that Nakina is the aboriginal man wearing European clothes. The party of natives in the centre of the panorama are returining from a fishing expedition to the coast.
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Panoramic view of King George's Sound, part of the colony of Swan River 1834.
Other Artists
Title: King George's Sound, 1840s. Artist: Richard Atherton FFARINGTON (1823-1855)
Title: A deserted Indian village in King George III Sound, New Holland, 1798. Artist: John SYKES (1773-1858), Engraver: John LANDSEER
Title: King George's Sound, W. Australia January 1875. Artist: Sir Whately ELIOT (1841-1927)
Title: Albany, W. Australia, August 1874. Artist: Sir Whately ELIOT (1841-1927)