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Wednesday 18th – the morning was bright and clear so, after I had done a bit more washing (I was keen to make the most of the cheaper laundry on the park and also the fact that it was very handy to us), we drove south again and stopped by Point Moore’s Lighthouse to read the information board. It is the only lighthouse in Australia made of metal and it was built in 1878. We were just getting back into the car when a young fellow came along in a van and got out a very smart looking remote control plane so we watched the aerobatic display for a few minutes – it was a great show! We travelled on a few kilometres south of Geraldton to a place called Greenough. Our neighbours at Cervantes had said that Greenough would be their next stop and, as we had passed through on our way to Geraldton, we had seen a few signs which attracted our attention.
Our first port of call was ‘Central Greenough Historic Settlement’. The buildings there had been at the centre of the village when it was a thriving agricultural area back in the 1860’s but flood,
drought and poor wheat crops led to it’s decline. The reception building was once the village stores and, as well as a lot of introductory information, included a wonderful gift shop and a nice looking restaurant that we thought we would use for lunch. First though, we paid our entry fees (which included a pensioners concession) and strolled around the dozen or so buildings on display. Most of them were still in their original condition although, where necessary, a bit of maintenance had been done and the two churches are still used for services. Many of the buildings had original or similar furniture and were well laid out. Only a couple of them were empty but they still had information in them detailing their use.
The first building was the school which was fully equipped with desks, blackboard and some signage detailing the main subjects of the day. When it was first built it was also used as a community hall and a place of worship. The next building, though, was probably the most fascinating. It was primarily the Police Station which also housed a gaol and, at one time, also included a courthouse, a post office and retiring
rooms for magistrates and visiting doctors. There was also a kitchen for preparing prisoner’s meals and stables for police horses. The Police Sergeant lived there with his wife and twelve children (how they managed goodness only knows!) It was the oldest building dating from 1863 and included several prison cells for short term imprisonment (long term prisoners were transferred to Geraldton) and a special, larger cell for Aboriginal prisoners. Typically they were not treated so well and they were chained to an iron bar often in overcrowded conditions. We both tried the cells for size - Graham looked frightened to death especially after I bolted the door!
The nearby Anglican Church of St Catherine had some lovely stained glass windows, was well looked after and notices told us that church services were still regularly held there. Built in the same style, St Catherine’s Hall was another splendid building – inside there were displays of old photos and details of some of the residents of the village. We sat and watched some of a DVD of former residents telling stories of their lives as children and young adults. One older lady made us smile when she wistfully reminisced about the
years she played table tennis and badminton in the hall. (We have spent very many happy hours playing table tennis in numerous village halls in the UK and in fact are unable to go into such buildings without commenting on whether it would be a good venue for ‘league matches’ or not - this hall would have been a great venue!)
There were a few cottages that we wandered round and a couple of them were furnished in accordance with the period. Then we came to another church – St Peter’s Catholic Church. The inside was stunning – beautifully painted, well loved and apparently was also used regularly. Next to the church was the convent which for a few years housed a group of Dominican Sisters from New Zealand. They ran a school until 1901 and then it was used as a boarding school for boys although it didn’t seem big enough for that sort of use. Graham rang the convent bell signalling that it was lunchtime so we strolled back to the visitor centre/café/shop and chatted to the owner who had emigrated from the Lake District in the UK – he was building up a very nice little
business here. While we waited for our meals, which were prepared to order, I happily looked at the many lovely gifts and knick-knacks on display. The lunches were excellent and finished off a splendid visit in style.
Afterwards we drove to Greenough Rivermouth which was where the caravan park was situated. It was a delightful area although not strictly a rivermouth as the river water failed to reach the ocean. Only when there is considerable rainfall upstream does the water flow into the sea. In the meantime there is a splendid lagoon effect which is a haven for birdlife. We saw a gathering of birds made up of pelicans, cormorants and egrets and overhead were a couple of ospreys. They very conveniently posed for photographs sat on telegraph poles near the road and weren’t bothered by our presence. At the “rivermouth” there were a couple of lookouts from which we had an excellent view of the ocean. We enjoyed our visit to Greenough and had we not needed the additional facilities that a place like Geraldton offered, we feel we would have been very comfortable at the caravan park there.
Back in Geraldton we strolled from the caravan
The 'Leaning Tree' of Greenough
the lean is caused by the constant strong southerly winds to the nearby beach. As bold as brass on a pole was yet another Osprey – how fantastic to see so many of these beautiful birds and in built up areas too. I had a paddle and confirmed that the sea was chilly! Then we had to get out of the way of a car that was pulling a lad on a board on the edge of the sea (not sure I like that sort of messing about!).
We finished our stay in Geraldton back at the HMAS Sydney Memorial watching the sun set over the sea. We were really pleased that we had spent a few more days here and the city had ‘grown’ on us during our stay.
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