Geraldton, Western Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Geraldton () is a city and port in Western Australia located 424 km 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.
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[edit] History
Though many European maritime explorers encountered or were even wrecked on the Houtman Abrolhos islands 60 km to the 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.
[edit] Attractions
The construction of the St Francis Xavier Cathderal started in 1916 but was not 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 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.
The HMAS Sydney is thought to have been lost off the coast and there is a memorial overlooking the city.
Geraldton is also an internationally renowned windsurfing location. The most famous 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 2006 Geraldton Gold Cup was won by the Clive Lauritzen trained 8yr old TapDog.
[edit] 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.
[edit] New Port
In 2006, it was proposed to establish a new deepwater ports at Oakajee, about 25km north of Geraldton. This port would serve the mining industry especially iron ore.
[edit] Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station
The Australian Defence Satellite Communications Station (ADSCS) is located at Kojarena, 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[1] 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.[2]
[edit] Images of Geraldton
Bill Sewell Complex |
Windfarm |
St Francis Xavier Cathedral |
Coronation Beach Windsurfing |
[edit] External links
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- Street map from Street Directory, MSN Maps and Multimap.
- Satellite image from Google Maps, WikiMapia and Terraserver.
- City of Geraldton
- Geraldton on Google Maps
- Western Australian Museum - Geraldton
- HMAS Sydney II Memorial Geraldton
| Local Government Areas of the Mid West region of Western Australia | |
|---|---|
|
Carnamah | Chapman Valley | Coorow | Cue | Geraldton | Greenough | Irwin | Meekatharra | Mingenew | Morawa | Mount Magnet | Mullewa | Murchison | Northampton | Perenjori | Sandstone | Three Springs | Wiluna | Yalgoo |
