Geraldton, Western Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Geraldton Western Australia |
|
 Location of Geraldton |
|
| Population: | 31,553 [1] (42nd) |
| Established: | 1850 |
| Area: | 189 km² (73.0 sq mi) |
| Location: | 424 km (263 mi) NNW of Perth |
| LGA: | Geraldton-Greenough |
| State District: | Geraldton |
| Federal Division: | O'Connor |
Coordinates: 28°46′44″S 114°36′25″E / 28.779°S 114.607°E
Geraldton is a city and port in Western Australia located 424 kilometres (263 mi) north of Perth. According to the 2006 census, Geraldton has a population of 31,553, making it the fourth-largest city in Western Australia.
Today the city is an important centre for mining, fishing, wheat, sheep and tourism.
Contents |
[edit] History
Though many European maritime explorers encountered or were even wrecked on the Houtman Abrolhos islands 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of Geraldton in the 17th and 18th centuries, there seems to be no evidence[vague] 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 Catholic Cathedral 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 cultural attraction of Geraldton.
HMAS Sydney was lost off the coast north west of Geraldton and there is 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 16 March 2008.
A popular past time of Geraldton locals is surfing. 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,[citation needed] 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 horse racing industry, which 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.[citation needed]
[edit] Facilities
The original port has been dredged to a depth of 9.4m at the berths, which is suitable for ships of 64,000 metric tons deadweight (DWT). In 2009 the West Australian Government gave the go-ahead for a new deepwater port port at Oakajee, about 25 km north of Geraldton. This port will serve the mining industry, especially iron ore.
Geraldton's public transport is primarily buses, owned by Geraldton Bus Service. The company has a school bus run, which has around 15 route services for school services, and about eight services during the day. School services are 50c each way if purchased in a group of 10.
Geraldton has great dive sites, such as the South Tomi, sunk in 2004 and trips out to the islands are available through the citys only dive shop, Batavia Coast Dive Academy. These waters are said to be some of the best in the world, especially in Australia, oftern having over 40m visability
Geraldton is serviced by most mobile phone companies such as Telstra, Vodafone and Optus. These are on the 2G network, while Telstra's newer 3G network, NextG, is available. 3G coverage, apart from NextG, is not available. Coverage of Optus and Vodafone is very poor in Geraldton and is next to unusable on the outskirts of the city.[citation needed]
[edit] Education
One of Geraldton's public high schools, John Willcock College was attended by Ernie Dingo. Recently[when?] the school became the first in Australia to have a laptop programme with all students being provided with Apple notebook computers for study purposes.
Geraldton also has may other senior high schools, Nagle Catholic College, Gerladton Grammar School and strathalbin catholic college.
[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 artefacts. 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] 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.[2][3] 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]
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.[4]
[edit] Climate
Geraldton lies in the transition stages between a Mediterranean and a temperate semi-arid climate.
| Climate chart for Geraldton | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
6
29
18
|
8
30
19
|
13
29
18
|
24
27
16
|
70
23
13
|
113
21
12
|
89
20
11
|
63
21
11
|
27
22
12
|
16
24
13
|
8
26
15
|
5
28
17
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| average temperatures in °C precipitation totals in mm |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Imperial conversion
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
[edit] Images of Geraldton
 Bill Sewell Complex |
 Windfarm |
 St Francis Xavier Cathedral |
 Coronation Beach Windsurfing |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Geraldton (WA) (Statistical District)". 2006 Census QuickStats. http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au/ABSNavigation/prenav/LocationSearch?collection=Census&period=2006&areacode=5083&producttype=QuickStats&breadcrumb=PL&action=401. Retrieved on 2008-10-02.
- ^ "Tracking down the masters of terror". The Age. 17 March 2003. http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/03/16/1047749659596.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-22.
- ^ Adshead, Gary (10 June 2001). "Secret WA spy base". The Sunday Times: p. 20.
- ^ Brendan Nicholson. US gets military base in Western Australia. The Age, 15 February 2007.
[edit] External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Geraldton, Western Australia |
- City of Geraldton-Greenough
- Western Australian Museum - Geraldton
- HMAS Sydney II Memorial Geraldton
- Geraldton Port Authority
|
||||||||||||||
