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Geraldton in Western AustraliaAbout GeraldtonGeraldton is a coastal city on the western side of Australia, four hours drive north from Perth. "Sun City" boasts a year round sunny climate with excellent conditions for sailing, surfing, windsurfing, fishing, swimming and all the excitement of a seaside City resort. Spectacular, unspoilt beaches stretch for kilometres both north and south of the City. Best season for Windsurfing is from September to February. Midwest CentreGeraldton is the capital centre for the Midwest region of Western Australia, a vast area of pastoral and agricultural industries, gold and base metal mining as well as one of Australia's lucrative fishing grounds, particularly for crayfish. Tourism AttractionsAs a tourist destination Geraldton has few equals. The city enjoys an average of 8 hours of sunshine each day with an average temperature of 28.8 C. Offshore and within easy reach is the Houtman Abrolhos; the most southern coral reef formation in the world and an area of outstanding beauty with many hundreds of species of unique marine life. The Houtman Abrolhos Islands consist of dozens of small islands and reefs some 60 km off the coast and is the watery grave of many early sailing ships. View details about our trips to the Abrolhos Islands
Brief HistoryThe Geraldton coastline, known as the Batavia Coast, is named after the vessel of that name wrecked in 1629, almost 150 years before Captain Cook discovered the eastern coast of Australia. The mutiny, rape and murders which occurred after the wreck of the vessel form a very important part of early Australian history. Two of the mutineers were punished by being marooned on the coast. They are considered to be the first European settlers in Australia.
Lots for the site of Gerald Town were surveyed in 1849 near the mouth of the Chapman River which, when it flows, enters Champion Bay. The expansion of mining around Northampton and Geraldton during the 1860's made Champion Bay the only major port north of Fremantle. In 1879 the first Government railway line in Western Australia was laid between Northampton and Geraldton. The 1890's saw the boom in the Murchison Goldfields. Since Federation of the Australian States in 1901 Geraldton has played a major role in the development of the Midwest region, consolidating its service to the mining, farming and fishing industries. Geraldton was proclaimed a city in 1988. Geraldton the City Location:28 46' S, 114 37' E, 424 km north of Perth, the state capital of Western Australia. Population:City of Geraldton 21,000 approximately. Approximately 7,500 in the surrounding Greenough Shire. Climatic Conditions:Temp. deg. C - av. daily max. 25.7; av. daily min. 13.5; highest av. daily max. Feb. 32.5; lowest av. daily min. Aug. 8.8. A Great Place to VisitAll in all, Geraldton is a great place to live and for visitors interested in windsurfing it really is the place to be when the winds are roaring through. Come and join us!!  |
There is a new Regional Museum Building located overlooking the new Marina development in the centre of the City. The Maritime Display Building houses relics of ships wrecked on the Geraldton coastline and the Houtman Abrolhos including the Batavia (1629), Zuytdorp (1712) and the Zeewyck (1727) and also the Midwest Region's history and natural heritage. There is also the spectacular 
The first British contact in this area was by Captain Phillip Parker King in 1822.
In 1839 George Grey was forced to walk southward some 500 kms to Fremantle after being shipwrecked near Kalbarri, just north of present day Geraldton. He reported on the fertile land south of the Chapman River and named the area the Victoria District. The Gregory brothers discovered a coal seam at the Irwin River in 1846, lead was found in the Murchison area in 1848 and reports of potentially good farming land attracted settlers.
