Albany's colonial history is tightly entwined with that of our first Governor, James Stirling. Reading into colonial documents we learn that Captain Stirling did not support King George Sound (Albany) as the primary settlement for the Empire's colonisation of the West. 

In the article below, Albany local Cirian Lynch details Captain Stirling's quest to install the Swan River settlement as the primary location for all further Western based development. Despite the many geographical benefits of King George Sound (Albany) Stirling viewed the fledgling settlement as a threat to his quest. Stirling went to extraordinary lengths to subvert colonial decision making which would eventually endorse the Swan River as THE colonial strong hold for the British Empire in the West. 

Strongly motivated by personal gain, he saw the Swan River colony as,

          'a commercial venture intended to revitalise the family’s shrinking fortune, gained over previous generations through the slave-driven tobacco and cotton industries of the North Atlantic, were worth more to him at this time than his interrupted Naval career'.

Click on the link below to read Cirian's dive into a deeper understanding of Stirling's personal motivations .

 https://theviewfrommountclarence.com/category/captain-sir-james-stirling/