Geraldton (

Wajarri The Wajarri people, also spelt Wadjari, Wadjarri, Watjarri, and other variations, are an Aboriginal Australian people whose traditional lands are in the Mid West region of Western Australia. Boolardy Station, along with the tiny settlement of ...

: ''Jambinu'', Wilunyu: ''Jambinbirri'') is a coastal city in the Mid West region of the Australian state of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

, north of the state capital,

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. At June 2018, Geraldton had an urban population of 37,648. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. Geraldton is the seat of government for the

City of Greater Geraldton The City of Greater Geraldton is a local government area in the Mid West region of Western Australia, north of the state capital, Perth on the Indian Ocean. It covers an area of , and its seat of government is the town of Geraldton. It was e ...

, which also incorporates the town of Mullewa, Walkaway and large rural areas previously forming the shires of Greenough and Mullewa. The Port of Geraldton is a major west coast seaport. Geraldton is an important service and logistics centre for regional mining, fishing, wheat, sheep and tourism industries.

History

Aboriginal

Clear evidence has established Aboriginal people living on the west coast of Australia for at least 40,000 years, though at present it is unclear when the first Aboriginal people reached the area around Geraldton. The original local Aboriginal people of Geraldton are the Amangu people, with the

Nanda Nanda may refer to: Indian history and religion * Nanda Empire, ruled by the Nanda dynasty, an Indian royal dynasty ruling Magadha in the 4th century BCE ** Mahapadma Nanda, first Emperor of the Nanda Empire ** Dhana Nanda (died c. 321 BCE), last ...

immediately to the north and

Badimaya The Badimaya people (also written Badimia) are an Aboriginal Australian people from the Mid West region of Western Australia. Country Traditional Badimaya country was calculated by Norman Tindale to encompass approximately , and is bordered by ...

immediately to the east. Today the Aboriginal people of the region generally identify as Yamatji or

people. Wajarri country is inland from Geraldton and extends as far south and west as Mullewa, north to Gascoyne Junction and east to Meekatharra. The Aboriginal people of the Murchison-Gascoyne region were instrumental in assisting early settlers in the area in identifying permanent water sources, and worked in the pearling, pastoral and fishing industries. Yamatji art is a distinctive style of painting, using thousands of dots of

ochre Ochre ( ; , ), or ocher in American English, is a natural clay earth pigment, a mixture of ferric oxide and varying amounts of clay and sand. It ranges in colour from yellow to deep orange or brown. It is also the name of the colours produced ...

and other earth-based pigments to create patterns and images relevant to Yamatji/Wajarri culture. The Western Australia Museum at the marina in Geraldton hosts a permanent exhibit on Yamatji/Wajarri culture and history of the region.

European arrival

Many European mariners encountered, or were wrecked on, the

Houtman Abrolhos The Houtman Abrolhos (often called the Abrolhos Islands) is a chain of 122 islands and associated coral reefs, in the Indian Ocean off the west coast of Australia, about west of Geraldton, Western Australia. It is the southernmost true coral ...

islands west of Geraldton during the 17th and 18th centuries. Although two mutineers from the were marooned on the mainland in 1629 there is no surviving evidence that they made landfall at or near the site of the current town. The wreck of the ''Batavia'', flagship of the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

(VOC) fleet on her maiden voyage, on Morning Reef of the Houtman Abrolhos on 4 June 1629, and the events surrounding the subsequent mutiny, rescue and punishment of her crew are of great historical significance to the region. A detailed account of the events is recorded in a 24 December 1897 Western Mail article "The Abrolhos Tragedy", translated from the notes of Francois Pelsaert, the commander of the ''Batavia'' when she ran aground. The Western Australian Museum in Geraldton houses an exhibition of clay pipes, silver coins, cannons, the original ''Batavia'' stone portico and numerous other relics recovered from the wreck of the ''Batavia'' and other notable local historical shipwrecks such as the , and . The explorer

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, ...

, while on his second disastrous expedition along the Western Australian coast, passed over the future site of Geraldton on 7 April 1839.

George Fletcher Moore George Fletcher Moore (10 December 1798 – 30 December 1886) was a prominent early settler in colonial Western Australia, and "one fthe key figures in early Western Australia's ruling elite" (Cameron, 2000). He conducted a number of exploring ...

, the colony's

attorney-general In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

, on the colonial

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoo ...

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

'', explored the region in January 1840 and discovered

Champion Bay Champion Bay is a coastal feature north of Geraldton, Western Australia, facing the port and city between Point Moore and Bluff Point. Champion Bay was named by Lieutenant John Lort Stokes of , who surveyed the area in April 1840. He named ...

. He was followed by Captain

John Clements Wickham John Clements Wickham (21 November 17986 January 1864) was a Scottish explorer, naval officer, magistrate and administrator. He was first lieutenant on during its second survey mission, 1831–1836, under captain Robert FitzRoy. The young ...

and Lieutenant

John Lort Stokes Admiral John Lort Stokes, RN (1 August 1811 – 11 June 1885)Although 1812 is frequently given as Stokes's year of birth, it has been argued by author Marsden Hordern that Stokes was born in 1811, citing a letter by fellow naval officer Crawford ...

of , who led an expedition to the area in April 1840, and named and surveyed Point Moore and Champion Bay. A decade later, explorer

Augustus Gregory Sir Augustus Charles Gregory (1 August 1819 – 25 June 1905) was an English-born Australian explorer and surveyor. Between 1846 and 1858 he undertook four major expeditions. He was the first Surveyor-General of Queensland. He was appointed a ...

travelled through the area. A member of his party, James Perry Walcott, discovered

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cut, ...

ore in 1848 in the bed of the Murchison River. The ''Geraldine'' mine was subsequently established, named after the

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,81 ...

family home of

Charles FitzGerald Charles Fitzgerald ( – 29 December 1887) was an Irish officer in the Royal Navy and Governor of The Gambia from 1844 until 1847, then Governor of Western Australia from 1848 to 1855. Son of William FitzGerald, 2nd Duke of Leinster, Fi ...

, the 4th

Governor of Western Australia The governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutiona ...

. The town of Geraldton, named after Governor FitzGerald, was surveyed in 1850 and land sales began in 1851.

World War II

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

Geraldton was the location of No. 4 Service Flying Training School RAAF. This flying school was formed on 10 February 1941 and disbanded in May 1945.

Climate

Geraldton has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

( Csa) with

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi- ...

(

Bsk BSK is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Sports * OFK Beograd, Serbian football club * FK BSK Borča, Serbian football club * FK BSK Batajnica, Serbian football club * FK BSK Banja Luka, Bosnian-Herzegovinian football club * FK BSK L ...

) influence. Geraldton is very sunny, receiving around 164 clear days annually. Summers are long lasting and hot, though with relatively mild nights. Winters are short but mild and wet with cool nights. In the winter the temperature is mild with daily highs averaging around . Most of the yearly rainfall falls in this period. In the summer months, Geraldton averages , with some days over . Afternoon sea breezes cool coastal areas and summer temperatures in coastal suburbs of Geraldton (Seacrest, Tarcoola, Geraldton CBD, Beresford, Sunset Beach, Bluff Point and Drummond Cove) are generally cooler than in inland suburbs, such as Strathalbyn, Utakarra, Woorree, Deepdale and Moonyoonooka.

Demographics

In June 2018 the population of Geraldton was 37,648, a decline from the recent peak of 38,792 in 2014. According to the 2016 census, in urban Geraldton: * Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 9.6% of the population. * 76.4% of people were born in Australia. The most common other countries of birth were England 4.1%, New Zealand 1.9%, South Africa 1.4%, Philippines 1.3% and India 0.6%. * 83.8% of people only spoke English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Malay 0.8%, Afrikaans 0.8%, Tagalog 0.6%, Italian 0.6% and Filipino 0.4%. * The most common responses for religion were Christian 62.2% (

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

26.5%,

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of t ...

16.5%) and No Religion 30.0%.

Economy

The economic output generated within Greater Geraldton, the

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

incorporating Geraldton, is estimated at $2.944 billion. Greater Geraldton represents 56.26% of the $5.233 billion in output generated in Mid West Region and 1.19% of the $247.705 billion in output generated in Western Australia.

Port of Geraldton

The Port of Geraldton is a major west coast port with seven bulk handling berths (and an average loading rate of seven tonnes per hour?????), ranking nationally (in tonnage for 2012/2013) 12th in exports (14,812,513); 23rd in imports (632,330); and 13th overall (15,444,843). The major exports from the Geraldton port in 2012/2013 were (tonnage): iron ore (10,741,662); grain (2,618,507); mineral sands (849,933); copper concentrate (149,450); zinc concentrate (148,420); nickel concentrate (65,919); and livestock (2,758). Major imports were petroleum products (328,021). In 2012/2013 the Geraldton port serviced 328 bulk haulage vessels.

Tourism

Visitor Centre

Th
Geraldton Visitor Centre
is located in the art gallery on 24 Chapman road. Its former location was the original Railway Station, a historic building in Geraldton's West End, and was originally built in 1878. It was the first railway station constructed on a Government line in Western Australia.

Point Moore Lighthouse

The Point Moore Lighthouse, located south of the Geraldton Port is a cultural and historical attraction. It is the oldest surviving Commonwealth lighthouse in Western Australia and was also the first steel tower to be constructed on the mainland of Australia. The Point Moore lighthouse stands 35m tall and its 1000w Tungsten Halogen Lamp can be seen for 23 nautical miles. It began operation in 1878. The tower was prefabricated in Birmingham, England in 1876 and reached Australia by boat in 1877. However, the foundation for the lighthouse was laid at the wrong place by the local contractors and had to be reconstructed at the new site. Currently, it is a heritage-listed structure which is visited by photographers, travellers, couples, artists, etc.

Geraldton foreshore and city centre

In 2007, the Geraldton foreshore area, previously an abandoned railway marshalling yard, was redeveloped and today hosts a playground with water activities, public green spaces, public beaches, picnic areas, basketball court and shaded play areas. The project was completed in 2008. Geraldton is a regular port of call for cruise ships with visits occurring approximately ten times per year. Volunteers, organised by the City of Greater Geraldton, greet visitors on arrival to provide information on activities and other assistance. HMAS Sydney Memorial

HMAS ''Sydney'' memorial

The memorial for the World War II cruiser is located o
Gummer Avenue
at the summit of Mount Scott. The memorial recognises the loss of the light cruiser during a mutually destructive fight with the German auxiliary cruiser ''Kormoran'' off

Shark Bay Shark Bay ( Malgana: ''Gathaagudu'', "two waters") is a World Heritage Site in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. The http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/shark-bay area is located approximately north of Perth, on the ...

in November 1941, with none of the 645 crewmen aboard surviving. A temporary memorial, consisting of a large boulder, a flagpole, and a bronze plaque, was erected in 1998. A permanent memorial was dedicated on 18 November 2001, the day before the 60th anniversary. The HMA
Sydney
memorial is made up of four major elements: 1. A

stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek language, Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ...

, based on the ships prow; 2. A granite wall listing the ships company; 3. A bronze statue of a woman looking out to sea and waiting in vain for ''Sydney'' to return; and 4. A dome made up of 645 stainless steel seagulls. The 645 stainless steel seagulls represent the souls of the lost sailors. In Folklore, birds such as seagulls are sometimes known as 'soul birds' because they are regarded as the souls of people who died at sea. (Armstrong, 1958) ''Sydney'' The Dome of Souls

In May 2009, the memorial was recognised by the Australian government as being of national significance.

Activities

Geraldton has a

with dry, sunny conditions and warm sea temperatures throughout the summer. Mean sea temperatures in the summer months (measured at 10m) are consistently above 22C, often exceeding 24C. Surface sea temperatures in summer regularly exceed 26C. The Geraldton foreshore area has pathways for walking, running, cycling, dog-walking, skateboarding and in-line skating. There are skate parks at Cape Burney, Maitland Park, Wonthella, Strathalbyn, Tarcoola Beach, Forrester and Drummond Cove. Farmers markets occur on Saturday from 8 am to 12 noon in Maitland Park on Cathedral Avenue and on Sunday at the Old railway station on the corner of Chapman Road and Forrest Street. 4WD access is permitted on many beaches around Geraldton. Access points are usually labelled with information and cautions. Road rules apply and beaches are patrolled by local rangers. Non-compliance to road rules or entry into prohibited areas attracts significant penalties. Many beaches are impassable at times around high tide and during periods of ocean surges. At certain times of year, access may become impossible due to

beach erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landward ...

Windsurfing and kitesurfing

During the spring, summer and early autumn months from September through April, Geraldton experiences consistent seabreezes.

Windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

and kitesurfing locations include Back Beach, Separation Point ("Seppos"), Point Moore, Hell's Gate, St. George’s and Sunset Beach. The region is a popular windsurfing location, attracting significant numbers of overseas visitors and product testing by manufacturers. In 2005, Geraldton was host to the Australian KiteSurfing Associatio
(AKSA)
Australian National Championships.

Surfing and stand-up paddlesurfing

Surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitable ...

, and more recently Stand-Up Paddlesurfing, are also popular activities in and around Geraldton. Popular surf spots include Flat Rocks, Greenough, Back Beach, Sunset Beach and Glenfield. Stand-Up Paddlesurfing spots include Point Moore, Town Beach, The Foreshore, St. Georges Beach and Drummond Cove to the north. In winter, local weather conditions shift to predominantly easterly (offshore) winds. Indian Ocean storms generate large swells that produce good conditions for surfing (though the fringe barrier reef protecting the Geraldton coastline blocks much of the swell, significantly reducing the size of the waves that reach the beaches). Large swells may create potentially dangerous

rip currents A rip current, often simply called a rip (or misleadingly a ''rip tide''), is a specific kind of water current that can occur near beaches with breaking waves. A rip is a strong, localized, and narrow current of water which moves directly away ...

as water flows through passages between the reef.

Fishing, boating and sailing

Saltwater

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...

and

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' ( land yacht) over a chose ...

are popular along Geraldton's coastline. Local and visiting recreational fishermen and women target a wide variety of native sport fish from the beaches and wharves that includes Mulloway, Bream, Tailor, Whiting, Sharks and Cod; larger fish such as Dhufish, Mackerel, Tuna, Snapper, Sampsonfish, Coral Trout and larger sharks, amongst many others are found on Geraldton's offshore reefs, located from approximately 8 km to more than 80 km offshore. A recreational fishing licence is not required when fishing from the shore but a licence must be obtained from the Department of Fisheries to fish from a boat. Significant fines apply for non-compliance. Recreational fishing for local Western Rock Lobster is also permitted during the season from December–April (exact dates vary from year to year) however, a special licence is required. Size and daily bag limits apply to certain species of fish and to all lobster catches. The city is home to the Geraldton Yacht Club, which marked its 100th anniversary in 2014.

Scuba diving and snorkelling

Scuba diving Scuba diving is a mode of underwater diving whereby divers use breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface air supply. The name "scuba", an acronym for " Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus", was coined by Chr ...

and

snorkelling Snorkeling ( British and Commonwealth English spelling: snorkelling) is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped breathing tube called a snorkel, and usually swimfins. In cooler waters, ...

are popular activities around Geraldton. There are several wreck diving sites off the coast, including the ''South Tomi'', which was sunk in 2004. The South Tomi is a 58.7-metre long, 9.81-metre wide vessel that was built by Niigata Engineering and Shipping Co Ltd. in Niigata City, Japan. In March 2001, the Republic of Togo registered South Tomi. The same month, the ship was identified fishing illegally in Australian sub-Antarctic waters and pursued by Australian Fisheries officers for 14 days, covering 3,300 nautical miles (approximately 6,100 kilometres). The vessel was boarded by Australian defence forces 320 nautical miles (approximately 600 km) south of Cape Town in South Africa and inspected. The vessel was found to be carrying an illegal catch of protected

Patagonian toothfish The Patagonian toothfish (''Dissostichus eleginoides'') is a species of notothen found in cold waters () between depths of in the southern Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans and Southern Ocean on seamounts and continental shelves around most ...

and the vessel and its catch were confiscated by Australian authorities. The vessel was escorted 8,500 km to Western Australia and arrived on 5 May in Fremantle. The catch was sold by the Australian government for $1.4 million. The City of Geraldton secured the vessel to be sunk as an artificial reef. The ship was towed from Fremantle to Geraldton and scuttled on 18 September 2004 2.9 nautical miles off the Geraldton coast. The site is registered with the WA Department of Fisheries as a wreck and is closed year round to fishing within the defined boundaries – commencing at 28°43.968'S 114°33.392'E, then east to 114°33.206'E, then north to 28°43.752'S, then east to 114°33.392'E, then south to the commencement point. Water depth at the site is approximately 24.5 metres and the deck is 13 metres from the surface. The wreck of the South Tomi is one of WA's Top 10 Dive Wrecks and provides an easily accessible diving alternative to the nearby

Team sports

Geraldton has a number of resident sporting teams, including Australian Rules Football, Basketball, Netball, Soccer and Roller Derby League. Geraldton is home to th
Mid West Academy of Sport
a non-profit community organisation providing support to sporting talent (athletes, coaches, officials and administrators) throughout the Mid West Region of Western Australia.

Horse racing

Geraldton is home to a

horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

industry and since 1887 has hosted the annual Geraldton Gold Cup meeting.

Events

The Geraldton Sunshine Festival, established in 1958, is one of Australia's longest-running festivals. The festival takes place annually in October, celebrating the arrival of Spring and providing opportunities for residents and visitors to engage with local businesses and other organisations. The Goodness Sustainability and Innovation Festival is held each August in and around Geraldton and showcases and celebrates innovation and achievement towards sustainability in the Mid West. The Big Sky Readers and Writers Festival – The festival has been hosted by the City of Geraldton and run by The Geraldton Library staff. Australian and International authors come together to share their knowledge and experiences in many ways, from intimate dinners to large scale debates.

Beaches

The main beaches in Geraldton are Tarcoola Beach, Back Beach, Separation Point, Point Moore, Pages Beach, Town Beach, Champion Bay, St Georges, Sunset Beach and Bluff Point.

Cathedrals

St. Francis Xavier Cathedral

The St Francis Xavier Cathedral was designed by World renowned Arts & Crafts architect and Catholic priest Monsignor John Hawes (1876–1956). Construction began in 1916 and was completed in 1938. The cathedral's architecture is unique and considered one of the finest cathedrals of the world built in the 20th century.

Cathedral of the Holy Cross

The

cathedral of Geraldton was built during the 1960s.

Entertainment

Queens Park Theatre is the largest entertainment and conference venue in Geraldton with a 673-seat auditorium (including box and circle seating), two large foyers with bars, a reception room, and a 500-seat outdoor amphitheatre. The theatre hosts professional events and performances from around the world. Theatre 8 is an amateur theatre that presents various local talents The Orana Cinemas in the historical West End is Geraldton's only cineplex with 3D available on selected movies. During the summer months, a movie is sometimes shown at the side of Dome on Foreshore Drive by Sun City Cinema. The main pubs near the Geraldton CBD are the Freemason's Hotel on Marine Terrace, The Camel Bar (next to the Post Office), The Vibe and the Geraldton Beach Hotel.

Facilities and services

Geraldton Airport provides multiple daily flights to and from Perth, operated by

QantasLink QantasLink is a regional brand of Australian airline Qantas and is an affiliate member of the Oneworld airline alliance. It is a major competitor to Regional Express Airlines and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines. As of September 2010 Qant ...

. General aviation services include charter flights to the Abrolhos Islands, to WA minesites and to various tourist destinations. The main passenger terminal is equipped with a licensed café, a private lounge for hire and a free public Wi-Fi hotspot. Flight training schools, aircraft maintenance facilities and a local aero club are based here. Construction is underway (2014) on an Airport Technology Park. Th
Greater Geraldton Regional Library
is open seven days a week and provides free access to the Internet via a public WiFi hotspot. Other free public WiFi hotspots are available along the Geraldton Foreshore from the marina to the Esplanad
Free public WiFi hotspot locations in Geraldton
The Geraldton Batavia Coast Marina consists of three jetties, 47 commercial and recreation boat pens, 42 floating pens, boat ramps, toilets, carpark, fishing platform and a boardwalk. Geraldton Volunteer Marine Rescue (active on weekends and public holidays) monitor marine radio frequency 27.88 MHz and VHF Channel 16. Local groups also monitor other frequencies such as 27.90 MHz, 27.91 MHz and VHF channels 72 and 73, as well as their own channels. The Geraldton Regional Art Gallery opened in 1984 and was one of the first "A Class" regional galleries in Australia. The Aquarena is a public swimming facility managed by the City of Greater Geraldton. It has 50-metre and 25-metre pools, a leisure pool, a water slide and hydrotherapy facilities, with water polo and swimming squads and group fitness sessions. The Queen Elizabeth II Centre (QE2) is home to a variety of community and seniors' groups, and offers facilities for public hire, including two large halls with equipped kitchens. The QEII Centre is available for local and visiting seniors, group meetings and also provides an internet hub for seniors.

Communications

Geraldton is host to one of the 121 "points of interconnection" for the Australian National Broadband Network (NBN), providing service to the largest geographic region in Australia. Geraldton was the first regional community in Western Australia where the NBN Fibre to the Premises (FttP) network was deployed in July 2013. NBNCo provides a fixed wireless broadband service for some parts of the region and in 2013/2014 introduced high speed optic fibre broadband services to areas of Geraldton in and near the city centre. All occupiable premises in Geraldton's urbanised areas between Tarcoola Beach in the south and Drummond Cove in the north are outfitted with nbn Fibre to the Premise services, with construction completed in mid 2017. (Excluding Mandurah) Geraldton is currently (2017) the only regional town in Western Australia with nbn Fibre to the Premise services. A number of Internet Service Providers offer services to Geraldton that include (where available) Fibre to the Premise (FttP) via NBNCo, private fibre networks (Seacrest Estate), as well as via public spectrum (5.8 GHz Class License) wireless links. Upon completion of the nbn rollout, nearly all copper-based services (ADSL, Frame Relay, Standard Analogue Telephone lines, etc.) were decommissioned and are no longer available. In 2012, the City of Greater Geraldton was one of 33 cities worldwide selected to receive a Smarter Cities® Challenge grant from IBM. The stated aim of the project is to "identify smart digital services and opportunities that leverage the increasing availability of broadband and to develop smart energy strategies that will enable the community's vision of becoming a carbon-neutral region by 2029". The region is serviced by the major mobile phone companies with

3G network 3G is the third generation of wireless mobile telecommunications technology. It is the upgrade over 2G, 2.5G, GPRS and 2.75G Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution networks, offering faster data transfer, and better voice quality. This net ...

s provided by

Telstra Telstra Group Limited is an Australian telecommunications company that builds and operates telecommunications networks and markets voice, mobile, internet access, pay television and other products and services. It is a member of the S&P/ASX 2 ...

, Optus and

Vodafone Vodafone Group plc () is a British multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. , Vod ...

, and 4G and 4Gx (700 MHz) by

Health and education

Healthcare

Geraldton has two hospitals: Geraldton Regional Hospital (GRH) (public) and St John of God Hospital (SJOGH) (private). Geraldton Regional Hospital is the only facility in Geraldton with a 24-hour Emergency Room. Geraldton Regional Hospital is a 55-bed hospital comprising accident and emergency, medical, surgical, paediatrics, maternity, intensive nursing, chemotherapy unit, day surgery and a renal dialysis unit. Allied health services (speech pathology, psychology, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, pharmacy and audiology) are also available at the hospital. St John of God Hospital is a 60-bed hospital with medical, surgical, acute care, maternity and palliative care. There is also an adjoining specialist centre where residential specialists are based. This included three general surgeons, radiologists, an orthopaedic surgeon, two obstetrician/gynaecologists, an ophthalmologist, GPs and anaesthetists. Visiting specialists consulting rooms are also based here. Geraldton has visiting specialists covering a wide range of medical specialities. Most visit Geraldton monthly. There are 42 private general practitioners resident in Geraldton, including four general practitioners employed by the Geraldton Regional Aboriginal Medical Service (GRAMS). Most of the GPs and resident specialists in Geraldton are involved in teaching Rural Clinical School medical students. Community services include the Aboriginal Medical Service, the Community Drug Service Team, the Community Health and Development Centre, and the Community Mental Health Team. Private diagnostic facilities include Geraldton Radiology at SJOGH, the PathWest at GRH and SJOG Pathology at SJOGH.

Tertiary education

Geraldton Universities Centre

The Geraldton Universities Centre is an independent, not-for-profit, incorporated body, supporting university courses in Geraldton on behalf of a range of universities including CQUniversity, Charles Sturt University and the University of Southern Queensland. The centre is an Australian first with university places allocated specifically for Geraldton, allowing students to study locally while living and working in the Mid West. The majority of graduates now work in regional Western Australia. The student body has grown from 20 student places in 2001 to more than 200 enrolled students in 2015, undertaking a range of bridging and full degree programs.

TAFE

=Central Regional TAFE

= Central Regional TAFE (formerly, Durack Institute of Technology) is a college of

TAFE Technical and further education or simply TAFE (), is the common name in English-speaking countries in Oceania for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational cours ...

providing education, training programs and services to the community including school leavers, mature age students, industry/corporate groups, international students, employers and those who study for their own personal and professional development.

=Batavia Coast Maritime Institute

= The Batavia Coast Maritime Institute (BCMI), a subsidiary of Central Regional TAFE, is a training, research and development facility located at Separation Point in Geraldton. BCMI offers coursework in Aquaculture, Aquaponics, Conservation & Land Management, Coxswain, Master Class V, Horticulture, Environmental Science, Marine Engine Driving Grade 1&2, Laboratory Sciences, Sustainability, Marine VHF Radio, Recreational Skippers Ticket and Restricted Coxswains.

Primary and secondary schools and colleges

Nearby

The

islands are west of Geraldton. The Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory Support Facility in Geraldton, operated by

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency responsible for scientific research. CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO ...

, provides support services for the Square Kilometre Array project located at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, 315 km northeast of Geraldton. The Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station is located at Kojarena, 30 km east of Geraldton.

Transportation

Geraldton has a public bus service run by

TransGeraldton TransGeraldton is a system of bus transport in Geraldton, Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. ...

and is connected to Perth with coach services provided by

Transwa Transwa is Western Australia's regional public transport provider, linking 240 destinations, from Kalbarri in the north to Augusta in the south west to Esperance in the south east. The Transwa system provides transport to the major regional ...

provides commercial services from Geraldton Airport; Several charter companies provide tourist charter flights and services to the mining industry. The airport is also used for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

Media

Radio

Radio services available in Geraldton: * Tourist Radio (88.0FM)–(Information for travellers and tourists) * 6 TTT (97.3FM) – (Community Access Radio Station) *

ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt ABC Midwest & Wheatbelt is an ABC Local Radio station based in Geraldton. The station broadcasts to the Mid West and Wheatbelt regions of Western Australia. This includes the towns of Meekatharra Northam and Dalwallinu. The station br ...

(6GN 828 AM) – Part of the

ABC Local Radio ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...

Network. *

Radio National Radio National, known on-air as RN, is an Australia-wide public service broadcasting radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. History 1937: Predecessors a ...

– (6ABCRN 99.7 FM) – Speciality talk and music. *

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greater emphasis on broad ...

– (6JJJ 98.9 FM) – Music for young Australians (non-commercial, ABC affiliate) *

ABC News Radio ABC News Radio is the news radio service of ABC Audio, a division of ABC News in the United States. Formerly known as ABC Radio News, ABC News Radio feeds, through Skyview Networks, five minute newscasts on the hour and news briefs at half-pas ...

– (6PNN 101.3 FM) – Rolling News bulletins, news magazine programs and LIVE coverage from Federal Parliament House of Representatives. *

ABC Classic ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. I ...

– (6ABCFM 94.9 FM) – Classical and Jazz Music. * WAFM (96.5FM) – Top 40 Music *

The Spirit Network Spirit Radio Network was a commercial radio network covering regional Western Australia. It was part of the Redwave Media Group owned by Seven West Media and broadcast to most towns and regional centers in Western Australia including Bunbur ...

(Radio 6BAY FM 98.1 \ 1512 AM) – Classic Hits / Adult Contemporary Music format aimed at 35 years + audience. *Radio Mama- 100.5FM- Indigenous Community station

Television

Television services available include: *The

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owne ...

(ABC) – ABC TV, ABC TV Plus (formerly ABC Comedy)/KIDS, ABC Me, ABC News 24 (digital channels) *The

Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS Wor ...

(SBS) – SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World Movies, SBS Food (formerly Food Network), NITV (digital channels) *

GWN7 GWN7 was an Australian television network serving all of Western Australia outside metropolitan Perth. It launched on 10 March 1967 as ''BTW-3'' in Bunbury. It was an affiliate of the Seven Network and served one of the largest geographic tel ...

(Golden West Network), an affiliate station of the

Seven Network The Seven Network (commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is a major Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, and is one of ...

* WIN Television, an affiliate station of the

Ten Network Network 10 (commonly known as Ten Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network owned by Ten Network Holdings, a division of the Paramount Networks UK & Australia subsidiary of Paramount Global. One of five ...

* West Digital Television, an affiliate station of the

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

(provided jointly by Prime Television and WIN Television) The programming schedule is mainly the same as the Seven, Nine and Ten stations in Perth, with variations for news bulletins, sport telecasts such as the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling ...

and

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

, children's and lifestyle programs and

advertorial An advertorial is an advertisement in the form of editorial content. The term "advertorial" is a blend (see portmanteau) of the words "advertisement" and "editorial." Merriam-Webster dates the origin of the word to 1946. In printed publications, t ...

produces a 30-minute regional news program each weeknight (originating from Bunbury) with a newsroom based in Geraldton, covering the local area.

Newspapers

The ''

Geraldton Guardian The ''Geraldton Guardian'' was established at Geraldton, Western Australia on 1 October 1906 to serve the Victoria and Murchison Districts. It was launched on principles of liberal democracy, state rights, nationalism and British preference. H ...

'' was established in 1878 as the ''Victorian Express'' and is the state's second oldest extant newspaper in continuous circulation (after

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, '' The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuous ...

). It is published on Tuesday and Thursday. ''Yamaji News'', published since 1995 by the Yamaji Languages Aboriginal Corporation, is a fortnightly Geraldton newspaper presenting issues and stories affecting indigenous people in the Gascoyne and Murchison districts. The ''Midwest Times'' is published on Thursday and is issued free to residents and businesses in the Geraldton and the Mid West.

Notable residents

Alfred Carson Alfred Carson OBE (7 November 1859 – 24 August 1944) was an Australian journalist and social worker. Biography Carson was born at Upper Swan in Western Australia to wheelwright George Carson and Charlot, ''née'' Hadley. After attending gover ...

(1859–1944), journalist and social worker *

Edith Cowan Edith Dircksey Cowan (' Brown; 2 August 18619 June 1932) was an Australian social reformer who worked for the rights and welfare of women and children. She is best known as the first Australian woman to serve as a member of parliament. Cowan h ...

(1861–1932), the first woman elected to an Australian Parliament, was born and raised at Glengarry Station * Patricia Gallaher OAM (1937–2014), regional librarian established the Randolph Stow award for young writers *

Geoff Gallop Geoffrey Ian Gallop (born 27 September 1951) is an Australian academic and former politician who served as the 27th Premier of Western Australia from 2001 to 2006. He is currently a professor and director of the Graduate School of Government a ...

(1951– ), 27th

Premier of Western Australia The premier of Western Australia is the head of government of the state of Western Australia. The role of premier at a state level is similar to the role of the prime minister of Australia at a federal level. The premier leads the executive bra ...

Nene Gare Nene Gare (9 May 191929 May 1994) was an Australian writer and artist, best known as the author of the novel ''The Fringe Dwellers'' (1961), which was made into the 1986 Australian film of the same name directed by Bruce Beresford. Personal li ...

(1919–1994), her novel

The Fringe Dwellers ''The Fringe Dwellers'' is a 1986 film directed by Bruce Beresford, based on the 1961 novel '' The Fringe Dwellers'' by Western Australian author Nene Gare.Nene Gare, The Fringe Dwellers, Sun Books, Melbourne, 1966 (first published by Heinemann, ...

was inspired by and set in Geraldton *

Xavier Herbert Xavier Herbert (born Alfred Jackson; 15 May 190110 November 1984) was an Australian writer best known for his Miles Franklin Award-winning novel '' Poor Fellow My Country'' (1975). He was considered one of the elder statesmen of Australian lite ...

(1901–1984),

Miles Franklin Award The Miles Franklin Literary Award is an annual literary prize awarded to "a novel which is of the highest literary merit and presents Australian life in any of its phases". The award was set up according to the will of Miles Franklin (1879–1 ...

-winning writer, was born here * Brenda Hodge, the last person sentenced to death in Australia. Her sentence was commuted when WA abolished the death penalty; she was eventually released from prison and now lives in Geraldton. * Chris Mainwaring (1965–2007), an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er, inaugural player for the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known as the Victorian Football L ...

* Doris Pilkington (1937–2014), author best known for her 1996 book '' Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence'' * Lieutenant General John Sanderson (1940– ), 29th

, former Chief of the Australian Army * Brett Sheehan (1979– ) Rugby Union player for Reds, Waratahs and Western Force *

Randolph Stow Julian Randolph Stow (28 November 1935 – 29 May 2010) was an Australian-born writer, novelist and poet. Early life Born in Geraldton, Western Australia, Randolph Stow was the son of Mary Campbell Stow née Sewell and Cedric Ernest Stow, a ...

(1935–2010), Miles Franklin Award-winning novelist. His ''The Merry-Go-Round in the Sea'' was set in the Geraldton area in the 1940s * Tasma Walton (1973– ), a television and film actress, wife of Australian comedian, television presenter and producer

Rove McManus John Henry Michael McManus (born 21 January 1974), better known by the stage name Rove McManus, is an Australian triple Gold Logie award-winning comedian, television and radio presenter, producer and media personality. He was the host of the e ...

John Willcock John Collings Willcock (9 August 1879 – 7 June 1956) was the 15th Premier of Western Australia, serving from 1936 until 1945. He was a member of the Australian Labor Party. Early life John Willcock was born at Frogmoor (now Frogmore), New So ...

(1879–1956), 15th Premier of Western Australia * Sir Ronald Wilson (1922–2005), Justice of the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established following passage of the '' Judiciary Act 1903''. ...

, President of the

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of Australia, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body funded by, but oper ...

* Sir Albert Wolff (1899–1977),

Chief Justice of Western Australia The Chief Justice of Western Australia is the most senior judge of the Supreme Court of Western Australia and the highest ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of Western Australia. The chief justice is both the judicial head of the Su ...

Lieutenant Governor of Western Australia The governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutio ...