| Type: | other |
| Frenchman Bay | |
| State: | wa |
| Lga: | City of Albany |
| Local Map: | yes |
| Zoom: | 14 |
| Coordinates: | -35.0936°N 117.9497°W |
| Postcode: | 6330[1] |
| Pop Year: | 2021 |
| Area: | 0.6 |
| Stategov: | Albany |
| Fedgov: | O'Connor |
Frenchman Bay is a locality of the City of Albany in the Great Southern region of Western Australia. It is located just west of the historic Cheyne Beach Whaling Station.[2] [3] It is approximately from Albany on the opposite side of the bay.
The site is in the traditional settlement area of the Mineng Aboriginal tribe.
Frenchman Bay, first named in 1887,[4] has been a significant site in the recent history of the entire region. George Vancouver, the first European explorer of King George Sound, landed here in 1791. A water source at Whalers Beach was subsequently visited again and again by seafarers. The water supply later enabled the establishment of whaling stations and was a destination for day trippers and tourists. Just north of what is now Goode Beach, a settler settled for the first time on the peninsula. Later a hostel and a campsite were built.[5]
Originally, the name Frenchman Bay referred to a larger area that also included Goode Beach and the Vancouver Peninsula to the north. In 2000, Vancouver Peninsula was split from Frenchman Bay.