Adventure to Geraldton

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We headed north for approx 58km to the busy port city of Geraldton. Population approx 39,000.

The roads are excellent and not too busy. The countryside inland is mainly cereal crops, with beef and sheep grazing. There were several large ships waiting out to sea to load up with grain and other cargos. The display at the visitor's centre stated that there were approx 380 ships each year, exporting the following commodities:- Talc, Iron Ore, Mineral sands, Barley, Wheat, Lupins, Canola, and Copper concentrates.

These are exported to:

China 84%

Australia 4%

South Korea 4%

Indonesia 2%

Rest of the world 6%

Forgot to check on imports!



The city's waterfront has been modernised and makes a pleasant area to walk, with cafes and well equipped children's play areas overlooking the sea.

The museum has a really excellent series of displays, with an overview of the history and culture of the area. The treacherous waters around this coast claimed mainly Dutch vessels in the 16C. There were also numerous French explorers, with places named in their honour.

We had a delicious fish and chips lunch at Skeeters overlooking the marina. This was followed by a visit to the HMAS Sydney memorial to the 645 sailors who went down with the ship on 19 November 1941, after an engagement with the Greman ship Kormoran. Both ships were fatally damaged and whilst 318 survivors from the Kormoran were picked up, the Sydney was last seen sailing off in the direction of the Austrailian coast and sank with all hands. The position of both ship wrecks remained unknown until 2008.

On the way home to Port Dennison we stopped to look at the rather wired wind blown trees, some of which were actually still growing along the ground, an indication of the strength of the wind along that coast.



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Photos

Winks at memorial lookout
The sculpture of the woman looking out to sea was placed before they knew where the wreckage was and by chance she was looking in exactly the right direction.

Comments

[Garry]

WOW
Tour Your Blogs are wonderful

[Pat]

Your blog!
Thankyou for sharing your Australia travels with us. While I'm sitting around with my foot up, your adventures are keeping me amused....and it reminds me of our trip to Oz. Enjoy the lovely weather, it's dark, damp & chilly here in Somerset. Xx

[alwinks]

Foot up?
Hello Pat. Have you had foot surgery? Hope you will be well for the walking weekend in November!