Albany 2026: New signs highlight hidden history of Albany’s Two Mile Petrol Tank Farm on Mt Melville

A little-known part of Albany’s military history is now on display for more to see on Mt Melville, with interpretive signs along the newly completed Mt Melville Cycle Link launched last week.

Veterans Assist Great Southern has spent the last two years researching and compiling information on the Two Mile Petrol Tank Farm on Mt Melville, and last Wednesday it helped launch the new signs along the cycle path which reveal new information about a largely overlooked part of Albany’s role in World War II.

The cycle link was opened in March, and the new signs are set up along the winding path that tracks around Mt Melville and towards the bridge over Menang Drive.

Lorna Steer, the daughter of engineer Stanley Byass who led the project in 1941, attended the launch and spoke about her time living in Albany while her father was working on the project, and praised the hard work that had gone into recognising the tanks’ significance and the important part they played as a fuel storage and distribution site during World War II.

Veterans Assist project leader Jane Mouritz told the gathered group it was Albany man and Main Roads WA engineer Geoff Cole who was the first to notice the tanks on Mt Melville, and approached local historian Sue Lefroy to learn more.

She said the pair then came to Veterans Assist, which took the project on and spoke to various veterans, historians and residents to help place their significance in Albany’s history.

Ms Mouritz, who took on a large part of the research herself, said initially things were complicated by a lack of distinction between the fuel tanks on Mt Melville, and historical tanks that were constructed at Point King to fuel American submarines in the harbour.

Veterans Assist chair Helen Tasker thanked Main Roads WA and the City of Albany for helping highlight a unique part of the city’s history amid the city’s bicentenary commemorations.

“A lot of people who have lived in Albany for a long time would have spent their childhoods running around up here and might have known about the tanks, but there’s a lot of local people in Albany today who don’t know they’re here, who don’t know the district and have no idea what’s hidden up here, so it’s great that it’s now out in the open and people can learn about them,” she said.

Deputy mayor Paul Terry spoke on behalf of the City of Albany, saying the completion of the new cycle path had provided the perfect opportunity to share the story of the tanks, how they were built, and their role in Albany’s military history.

“What this project, this cycle path, has provided is the opportunity for the community to see these tanks, because hardly anyone knew that they were here,” he said.

“I knew they were here because, as well as doing quite a bit of road cycling, I did quite a bit of mountain biking, and during the track to the back of Mt Melville, I’ve seen the tanks down here, and seen the wonderful artwork inside the tanks.

“It’s a hidden gem for Albany, and having this shared path is just enabling all of us to have a look at that magnificent history that we have.”