Mass Rocks

Author

City of Albany

Place Number

15438

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Location

Lot 1575 Brunswick Rd Port Albany

Location Details

Other Name(s)

Rocking Stones

Local Government

Albany

Region

Great Southern

Construction Date

Demolition Year

N/A

Statutory Heritage Listings

Type	Status	Date	Documents	More information
Heritage List	Adopted	27 Oct 2020

Heritage Council Decisions and Deliberations

Type	Status	Date	Documents
(no listings)

Other Heritage Listings and Surveys

Type	Status	Date	Grading/Management		More information
Type	Status	Date	Category	Description	More information
Local Heritage Survey	Adopted	27 Oct 2020	Considerable	Considerable Very important to the heritage of the locality.
Municipal Inventory	Adopted	30 Jun 2001	Category B	Category B • Requires a high level of protection. • Provide maximum encouragement to the owner under the City of Albany Town Planning Scheme to conserve the significance of the place. • A more detailed Heritage Assessment/Impact Statement to be undertaken before approval given for any major redevelopment. • Incentives to promote heritage conservation should be considered.

Statement of Significance

Mass Rocks has cultural heritage significance for the following reasons:
The place is the site of the first religious service celebrated by a Catholic priest in Western Australia in January 1838 and marks the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church in WA in 1843

Physical Description

Some of the notable features of this place include:
• Open setting, on the original foreshore below the offices of the Albany Port Authority
• Two large rocks, one flat, with the other large boulder appearing to balance on it
• A rough timber altar - added in 1993
• Access from Bolt Terrace or Brunswick Rd

History

Mass Rocks, sometimes known as Rocking Stones, are located to the east of the boundary of a four-acre block, E1, allocated to Sir James Stirling. At these rocks in January 1838 a religious service was celebrated for the first time by a Catholic priest in the settlement of Western Australia. The chaplain of the French warship “L’Heroine” gathered people to this place and offered Mass. In 1843 a mass conducted on the site by newly arrived priests marked the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church in WA. An outdoors wooden altar made from timbers salvaged from the old Albany deep water jetty was built on the site in 1993.

Integrity/Authenticity

Integrity: High/Moderate
Authenticity: High/Moderate

Condition

Good

References

Ref ID No	Ref Name	Ref Source	Ref Date
	Heritage TODAY Site visit and Assessment		1999
	L Johnson; "Town of Albany Heritage Survey".		1994

Place Type

Historic Site

Uses

Epoch	General	Specific
Present Use	OTHER	Other
Original Use	OTHER	Other

Historic Themes

General	Specific
SOCIAL & CIVIC ACTIVITIES	Religion

Creation Date

10 Mar 2000

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Approved

Last Update

08 Dec 2021

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.