Where is Cheynes Beach? Cheynes Beach is on the South Coast: • 470 km from Perth • 70 km east of Albany The turn off from the South West Highway is well signposted.

Cheynes Beach is a small settlement comprised of fisher’s shacks, holiday homes and a caravan park.

Visitors to the area can revel in a pristine, long white beach and aqua blue waters. They can partake in many activities including recreational fishing, boating, swimming, surfing, bushwalking or just relaxing on the beach.

Salmon run from February to May and attract commercial and recreational fishers. Large schools are netted off the beach and can be quite exciting to watch.

Whales visit the bay during winter and spring. Southern Right whale cows come in close to the shore and can be seen quite easily from the beach. Their young calves put on spectacular displays.

The area is becoming well known to bird watchers as it is home to some rare species of birds, notably, the Noisy scrub bird, Western Bristle bird and Western whip bird. All can be found within walking distance of the bay.

The settlement is surrounded by Waychinicup National Park which contains many types of flora and fauna, beautiful and unique rock formations, wonderful inlets and little beaches.

Services at Cheynes Beach are limited. There is a small shop at the caravan park which supplies groceries, fuel, bait, ice, gas, liquor and basic takeaway food. See our Cheynes Beach Fast Facts for details.

A little bit of history

The first colonial use of the bay was by whalers in the 1840s. Whaling continued from the bay until the 1870s however it wasn’t until the 1920s that the Westerberg family pioneered commercial fishing from the bay.

Charlie Westerberg built the first of the present day houses at the beach in 1946.
Holiday makers started coming to the area at about the same time and many built “squatter shacks” along the beach front or camped among the peppermint trees.
In the early 1950s a group of local fishermen and business people decided to recommence whaling from the bay and the Cheynes Beach Whaling Company was formed. However, a better site was found and the whaling station was built at Frenchman Bay.

The 1970s all the shacks were removed and a caravan park was established to cater for campers and caravaners. Later blocks were released for holiday home settlement and the road in from the highway was sealed.