Everything about Geraldton totally explained
Geraldton is a city and port in
Western Australia located north of
Perth. According to the 2001 census, Geraldton has a population of 29,996, making it the fifth-largest city in
Western Australia.
Today the city is an important centre for mining, fishing, wheat, sheep and tourism.
History
Though many European maritime explorers encountered or were even wrecked on the
Houtman Abrolhos islands west of Geraldton in the 17th and 18th centuries, there seems to be no evidence that any made landfall near the site of the current town. The first European to explore the area was
George Grey in 1839. A decade later the explorer
Augustus Gregory travelled through the area. He discovered lead on the
Murchison River and the mine which was subsequently established was named
Geraldine after the Governor
Charles Fitzgerald. The town of Geraldton was gazetted in 1850.
Attractions
The construction of the St Francis Xavier Catholic Cathedral started in 1916 but wasn't completed until 1938. The cathedral was designed by Monsignor
John Hawes who was both an architect and a priest.
The lighthouse located on Point Moore was recently repainted and established as another cultural attraction of Geraldton.
Geraldton's public high school, John Willcock College is famous for having been attended by
Ernie Dingo. Also recently the school became the first in Australia to have a laptop programme with all students being provided with Apple Notebook Computers for study purposes.
HMAS Sydney was lost off the coast north west of Geraldton and there's a memorial overlooking the city. After years of searching, the wreck of HMAS Sydney was discovered north of Geraldton, 150 kilometres (81 nmi) from
Shark Bay on March 16, 2008.
A popular past time of Geraldton Locals is
surfing. The
Geraldton Boardriders Association
runs surf events throughout the year and
Surf2skool, Geraldton's only surf school offers developing surfers lessons, trips and coaching. Popular surf spots include Flat Rocks, Back Beach, Greenough, Glenfield, and Sunset Beach.
Geraldton is also an internationally renowned
windsurfing location. The most popular spot is
Coronation Beach, located just north of the town. "Coro" is a spectacular port tack jumping site, with flat water on the inside and unhindered
Indian Ocean rolling swell offshore. In the late afternoon, the wind swings a little more offshore and
starboard tack waveriding becomes possible.
Geraldton is also home to a flourishing
horse racing industry, that since 1887 hosts the annual
Geraldton Gold Cup. The 2007
Geraldton Gold Cup was won by the Clive Lauritzen trained 8yr old
TapDog. The race was historically significant. Tapdog became the first horse to win the race three times, Clive Lauritsen became the first trainer to win the race 6 times, Roy McKay became the first jockey to win the race three times, and owners Peter Day, Jeannette Day, and Hans Hoiskar equalled the most wins by an owner in three. The race also passed the million dollar mark for the first time in tote turnover.
Nearby
North of Geraldton is the town of
Northampton, as well as the
Hutt River Province, an area which claims to be an independent nation since its self-proclaimed
secession from Western Australia in 1969.
The
Houtman Abrolhos islands are 60 km to the west of Geraldton. They are famous for the 1629 wreck of the
Batavia. A stone portico recovered from the wreck has been reconstructed at the local
museum, along with other artifacts.
Twenty-five kilometres south of Geraldton near Walkaway a
windfarm was completed in August 2005. It consists of 54 turbines, each producing 1.8 MW and 80 metres high with 40 metre blades.
Old Port
The original port has be dredged to a depth of 9.4m at the berths, which is suitable for ships of .
New Port
In 2006, it was proposed to establish a new
deepwater port at
Oakajee, about 25km north of Geraldton. This port would serve the mining industry, especially iron ore.
Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station
The Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station (ADSCS) is located at Kojarena, inland near Geraldton. The ADSCS is part of the US
signals intelligence and analysis network
ECHELON. The station has four satellite tracking dishes which intercept communications from Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Pakistani regional satellites
(External Link) and international communications satellites (
INTELSATs and
COMSATs), throughout the Indian Ocean and South-East Asian regions. Staff are drawn from the American
National Security Agency and the Australian
Defence Signals Directorate, and the site is operated under the
UKUSA Agreement.
(External Link)
On
15 February 2007, it was announced that a new US military communications base would be built in Geraldton, after three years of secret negotiations between the US and the Australian Federal Government.
Images of Geraldton
Image:Geraldton DSC04304.JPG|Bill Sewell Complex
Image:Geraldton Wind Farms DSC04308.JPG|Windfarm
Image:St Francis Xavier Cathedral.jpg|St Francis Xavier Cathedral
Image:coro.jpg|Coronation Beach Windsurfing
Further Information
Get more info on 'Geraldton'.
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