Geraldton, Western Australia, is located on the beach in the Mid West region of the state, 424 kilometres (263 mi) north of the state capital, Perth.
The region of Geraldton and its surrounds is
a place of rich and remarkable history and stories, ranging from the deep time of the Aboriginal people to Dutch seafaring, British explorers and settlers and many others.
The Southern Yamatji People
The Aboriginal people of the Mid West region of the Australian state of WA generally identify as "Yamatji" or Wajarri people. The word "Yamatji" means "Aboriginal person" in the Wadjari language.
Most of the many Aboriginal groups in the region had their own language, culture, beliefs, lore and knowledge, but collectively they are known as Yamatji.
For at least 40,000 years, Aboriginal people have been
living on Australia's west coast. It is still debated whether the ancestors of the Aboriginal people came to Australia through Papua and then down into Cape York or crossed from Timor into north-western Australia.
Recent DNA evidence, however, appears to show population expansion starting from northeast Australia. Research also shows that Papuan and Aboriginal Australian people separated about 37,000 years ago, almost 30,000 years before the land-bridge washed away, when sea levels rose about 10,000 years ago, between Papua and Cape York.
DNA of Aboriginal people also shows that early Australians left Africa sometime between 51,000 and 72,000 years ago. Interestingly, there is a large genetic difference between the east and west coast Aboriginal populations.
Aboriginal clans mostly lived on a defined
area of land called their Kalla or fireplace, where they camped, hunted, gathered foods and had proprietary rights and custodial duties (Moore 1884).
Yamatji people referred to the
ancestral being, the Rainbow Serpent, as Beemarra. In one Dreamtime story, Beemarra travelled down the Murchison River after hearing the sound of waves.
Beemarra followed a creek and then disappeared underground to tunnel her way to the coast. Emerging at Kalbarri Coastal Cliffs, Beemarra was frightened by the waves and fled back to the Murchison River, making tunnels in the red sandstone. She also left freshwater where she rested. This story was how the Yamatji people
explained the existence of freshwater springs.
Laws and religion were handed down by oral tradition; from father to son and mother to daughter.
The Yamatji kinship system of Aboriginal social organisation and family relationships was strict in regard to marriage. People were divided into "skin" groups, and this determined who an individual could marry. According to ethnographer Daisy Bates, the breach of this law would result in severe penalties. (see
here)
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| Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Thursday 13 February 1936 |
Wilgie Mia (home of ochre), in the Weld Ranges of Western Australia, is where Yamatji people obtained ochre for ceremonies. In Yamatji stories, it was believed that Mondong, an evil spirit fought with a giant kangaroo and killed it. The red ochre was formed from the blood of the kangaroo. Only chosen, initiated medicine men could enter the cave. Women never. |
| Cave in the Weld Ranges where Aboriginal people obtained red and yellow ochre, Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Saturday 25 December 1909 |
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| Murchison Aboriginal people, Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954), Sunday 15 December 1940 |
The Yamaji Drive Trail goes around the city of Geraldton, out to Greenough and Walkaway, and inland to Mullewa. Visit a Midden Site at Bluff Point, Geraldton. a corroboree site at Strathalbyn, and the the site of an old Aboriginal soak at Tenindewa Woolya Reserve. See
here 1600: Europeans
The chain of islands that lies eighty kilometres (50 mi) west of Geraldton, WA, called the Houtman Abrolhos, was the site of many European shipwrecks prior to British arrival in Australia. The most famous being Dutch ship Batavia, which was wrecked in 1629, and Zeewijk, wrecked in 1727.
1800s
George Grey, British soldier and explorer, explored the region in 1839:
"Sir. George Grey, born in I812 and trained in the army, led two exploratory expeditions in the north-west of Western Australia under Royal Geographical Society auspices. Wounds received in a
fight with hostile aborigines caused bim to abandon the first expedition, undertaken in 1837-8. during which be followed the Glenelg River for 70 miles. The second expedition, in 1839, sought to explore
the coast between Shark Bay and Perth. A hurricane destroyed most of the party's stores after the discovery of the Gascoyne River. The boats were wrecked when the party tried to sail back to
Perth along the coast. Landing, the explorers began a 300 miles walk to the capital. Grey entered Perth alone on April 31 1839. His exhausted comrades were saved by rescue parties."
Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Thursday 9 July 1925
Grey survived the journey, accompanied by Kaiber, a Whadjuk Noongar man (Aboriginal man of Perth region).
All except one of his men arrived later.
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| Sir George Grey [engraving from a photograph, ca 1861 |
1840s
Captain John Clements Wickham and Lieutenant John Lort Stokes of HMS
Beagle led an expedition to the area in April 1840, mapping the Houtman Abrolhos Islands and
the coast around Champion Bay (Geraldton).
When Augustus Gregory,
explorer and surveyor, travelled through the area in 1848, following the course of the Gascoyne River, to look for new pasture-land, soldiers uncovered water at Mahomet's Flats after digging some three feet at the base of a large sand dune. A member of this party, James Perry Walcott, discovered lead ore in the bed of the Murchison River.
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| Sir Augustus Charles Gregory, ca. 1890, Libraries Australia |
After A. C. Gregory reported to Governor Fitzgerald that he had found lead and copper deposits in the Champion Bay district, the Governor accompanied Gregory back to the locality of the find and was speared in the leg by local Aboriginals at what is now known as Elephant Hill.
Subsequently, the Geraldine mine
was established, named after the County Clare family home of Charles FitzGerald, the 4th Governor of Western Australia, in the vicinity of what is now Northampton — called after a later Governor — Hampton.
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| West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Saturday 14 January 1939 |
Garrison and Mine
In 1849 a military garrison
was established at Champion Bay, named after HMS
Champion, which anchored in the bay in 1840. Police Constable John Drummond appointed, as was military leader Lt Elliot of the 99th Regiment, became magistrate. The Geraldine Lead Mine began operations in December 1849.
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| Mr Drummond was the first Police Inspector of the Victoria district, and married Miss Mary Shaw, daughter of the late Capt. Shaw, R-N, Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954), Sunday 25 September 1921. |
1850s
Wells were dug, and a military garrison, was erected. In January 1850, the area was surveyed, and a rough town laid out.
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| Geraldton Guardian and Express (WA : 1929 - 1947) |
During 1850, farmers took up leases in Geraldton's hinterland. William Burges was the first permanent land settler in the Northampton District, establishing the first pastoral property in 1850, called "The Bowes".
Major Logue, another early settler, overlanded stock from York to Geraldton and became as pastoralist near Greenough. He named his new property "Ellendale" and remained there for the rest of his life. The property now lies in ruins.
Systematic raiding by Aborigines of cattle in the Geraldton area occurred during 1852-3. These attacks were in response to the loss of land and resources. Retaliation by settlers and diseases to which Aboriginal people had no immunity had a devastating impact. Aboriginal peoples social and political organisations fell into disarray.
The Lynton Convict Hiring Depot (1853-1856) was the first and remains the most intact example of a regional convict depot in Western Australia. It was
established for the settlement of 60 ticket-of-leave convicts and pensioner guards (retired British soldiers) to supply labour to the Geraldine Lead Mine. The convict depot
moved to Champion Bay (Geraldton) in 1857.
1860s
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| Inquirer and Commercial News (Perth, WA : 1855 - 1901), Wednesday 15 November 1865 |
The first Courthouse was built by 1867, on the corner of Marine Terrace and Gregory Street.
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| Old Supreme Court and Police Barracks, Geraldton, WA, Geraldton Guardian (WA : 1906 - 1928), |
1870sIn 1871, the Geraldton Town Trust was incorporated to administer the town, with a Chairman (similar to mayor). The Trust occupied the old Pensioner Barracks in Gregory Street (demolished).
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| Original Council Chambers, Geraldton, WA, Geraldton Guardian (WA : 1906 - 1928) |
John Forrest's expedition departed Geraldton in 1874 on his journey of exploration to Central Australia. The party of five men, included Aboriginal trackers, Tommy Windich and Tommy Pierre.
The group made their way to Adelaide, to explore the "real nature" of the Western Australian interior, and to be the first to cross Australia from west to east.
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| John Forrest and his exploring party leaving Perth on horseback, 1874, SLWA |
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| John Forrest's expedition departed Geraldton in 1874 on his journey of exploration to Central Australia. Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954) |
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| The 1874 expedition Champion Bay to Adelaide, West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954) |
When the Geraldton-Northampton Railway was constructed 1874-1879, a siding was located at "The Bowes", a quarter of a mile from the homestead.
In 1877 John Drummond was charged with wounding with intent to murder tenant farmer John Fisher at Redcliffe Farm, near Geraldton. He was found guilty of shooting Fisher with intent to do him grievous bodily harm and sentenced to three years' penal servitude.
The Geraldton to Northampton telegraph line was established in 1878.
First Government railway opens between Geraldton and Northampton in 1879.
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| The scene in Geraldton at the opening of the railway to Northampton in December 1877, Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954) |
1880sIn 1881, Edward Wittenoom purchased the Geraldton station White Peak from John Drummond, and established a sheep stud farm there.
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Side view of "Avonside" 1241-42, believed to be Fairlie No.2, later WAGR E class No.7 Geraldton, photographed at Geraldton, Western Australia, 1886. All of the Geraldton workshops staff can be seen in the image. The man in the bowler hat is Mr Clough, the locomotive superintendent at Fremantle. He had been transferred to Geraldton to supervise the erection of the locomotive. wagon16
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Constance Norris who was born in 1887 in Geraldton remembered Aboriginal people camping on the site now occupied by the town’s cathedral.
Multicultural Gardeners
A Turkish gardener, Abdallah Mahomet, was gifted 10 acres of land from the Government for the term of his natural life. He was the first person of the name Mahomet to live in the area now called Mahomet’s Flats.
Years later, some Chinese and Japanese people had market gardens at Mahomet’s Flats. However, the drifting sands made it difficult, and many moved to Obanooka Farm at Glenfield.
A Chinese market gardener named Jimmy D’Atta, lived at Mahomet’s Flats and built a house called “Canton Villa”, where he lived with his English wife, Clara Martha Youard.
1890s
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| Railway Station Yard, Geraldton. WA, Pictorial Australian (Adelaide, SA : 1885 - 1895), Thursday 1 November 1894 |
The railway ran along Marine Terrace until 1893 when the second station was built and the rails were removed from the street.
In Western Australia in this era, only 10% of the prison population in gaols was classified as Indigenous, 96 out of 99 prison escapes were by Aboriginal prisoners. Dr Elizabeth Grant say that “Once imprisoned, the use of chains was seen as ‘essential’ due to the high rates of escape –" (
1.)
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| Native prisoners at Geraldton, WA, Pictorial Australian (Adelaide, SA : 1885 - 1895), Saturday 1 June 1895 |
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| Australia Hotel/Freemason Hotel in Geraldton, Western Australia, circa 1896.State library WA |
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| GERALDTON (WA) Welcomes Premier, Geraldton Express and Murchison and Yalgo Goldfields Chronicler (WA : 1896 - 1905), Friday 26 March 1897 |
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| Geraldton, WA, Geraldton Express and Murchison and Yalgo Goldfields Chronicler (WA : 1896 - 1905), Friday 26 March 1897 |
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| Geraldton, WA, Geraldton Express and Murchison and Yalgo Goldfields Chronicler (WA : 1896 - 1905), Friday 26 March 1897 |
The second Courthouse opened in 1898.
Geraldton continued to develop mining and pastoral businesses and connect them with port and rail infrastructure. In the 1890s, the Murchison Goldfield
caused the population of Geraldton to expand as hopeful diggers rushed to Western Australia.
1900s
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| The Convent at Geraldton, WA, Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Saturday 27 June 1903 |
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| Pridmore's brick yard, Geraldton, WA, Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Saturday 27 June 1903 |
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| Part of Marine Terrace, Geraldton, Western Australia - circa 1905, Aussie~mobs |
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| The shield won by the Geraldtoncadets, Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Saturday 30 October 1909 |
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| Geraldton, WA, Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954), Sunday 25 September 1910 |
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| Geraldton, WA, Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954), Sunday 25 September 1910 |
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| Geraldton, WA show ground, Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Saturday 29 October 1910 |
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| MESSRS. HENRY GRAY AND CO. S STORE AT GERALDTON, WA, Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Saturday 27 July 1912 |
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| View of Geraldton, WA, Kalgoorlie Western Argus (WA : 1896 - 1916), Tuesday 8 July 1913 |
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| LAYING THE FIRST ELECTRIC LIGHT CABLES IN MARINE-TERRACE, GERALDTON. WA, Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Friday 8 August 1913, |
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| Geraldton, Western Australia (looking north) - early 1900s, Aussie~mobs |
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| GERALDTON POLICE QUARTERS.This building was erected recently by the pnblic Works Department, under tile direction of Mr. Billson Beasley. Chief Architect Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Friday 28 August 1914 |
WWI: 28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918 |
| Geraldton football team, WA, Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Friday 7 August 1914, |
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| PTE. S. J. OLDFIELD. 16th Battalion. Ill at Malta. .Son of Nurse Oldfield, of Geraldton, WA. Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954), Sunday 9 January 1916 |
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| Boy Scouts, Geraldton, WA, Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Friday 19 May 1916 |
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Dalgety and Co.'s Wool Stores at Geraldton where part of the recent appraisement of 3,500 bales was conducted, Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Friday 6 April 1917
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| Police officers, Geraldton. circa 1918. Police officers, back row from left: 1149? S. Anderson, 1071 A.L. Reid, 496 W.S. Crawford, 919 G.M. Foord, 1117? J.D. Jacobs; Front row: 58 O.A.H. 'Dutchey' Evenson, 94 Herbert Thomas, 1058 G.H. Joel. |
1920s
The
Geraldton Express published the reminiscences of an elderly man in 1920, which describes the cultural clash which occurred during the early days of settlement:
"The natives were very wild, they were also numerous – to be counted in thousands – and they gave the new-comers a bad time ... The blacks resented the white man taking possession of their springs and water-courses – places around which their ancestors had hunted for generations – and following the murder of a white man by Aborigines or the killing of sheep, or bullocks, a party would be formed and a [expletive] hunt organised, with the result that the ringleaders in the neighbourhood where the crime was committed would be shot down – the saying being among some that ‘the sooner the blackfellow and the dingo are exterminated the better for the white man" Geraldton Express 10th September 1920
In late 1929, the Calligaro brothers, who had emigrated from Italy, began making bricks in Walkaway Road at Bootenal outside Grealdton. Geraldton Brickworks Pty Ltd acquired the business in 1961.
Down Under was the first full-length feature film made in Western Australia. It is an Australian feature-length film directed by Harry Southwell.
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| Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 - 1950), Friday 29 October 1926 |
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| Geraldton's Official Diver. MR. WOODHEAD Who is here seen in bis armor about to descend. He is die first diver in Geraldton to be equipped with the latest telephone apparatus.Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954), Sunday 5 July 1925 |
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| Maypole dancing at the Geraldton Show, Sunday Times (Perth, WA : 1902 - 1954), Sunday 2 October 1927 |
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| The Prime Minister Mr Bruce left for Geraldton, WA on W. A Airways, Daily News (Perth, WA : 1882 - 1950), Wednesday 4 July 1928 |
1930s
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| Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Thursday 18 April 1935 |
During the Great Depression many people experienced unemployment and homelessness. Camps cropped up around Geraldton. One was on a large sand dune behind the district hospital known as the "Edward Rd" or "Hospital Hill" camp.
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| Aboriginal people at Geraldton, WA, n.d. DON PUGH |
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| West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Monday 19 June 1933 |
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| Geraldton, WA, Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Thursday 5 January 1933 |
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| Constructed from 1935 Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Thursday 15 October 1936, |
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| Building with a theatre, service station, motor showrooms, shops, and flats, Geraldton, WA, West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Saturday 1 May 1937 |
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| Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Thursday 18 October 1934 |
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| Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Thursday 18 October 1934 |
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| Geraldton Guardian and Express (WA : 1929 - 1947), Monday 4 September 1939 |
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| Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Thursday 13 October 1938 |
1940s and WWII
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| Marine Terrace, Geraldton, WA, Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Thursday 26 December 1940 |
No. 4 Service Flying Training School (No. 4 SFTS) (RAAF) was formed in February 1941 during World War II and was based at Geraldton.
Western Australia was shelled by a Japanese Submarine on 28 January 1943, 64 kms north of Geraldton, at around midnight (Tokyo time).
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| Kojarina, near Geraldton, Western Australia. Informal portrait of 415152 Leading Aircraftman (LAC) Ray Kelly about to board an Avro Anson of Y Flight at 4 Service Flying Training School (4SFTS). Public Domain |
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| RAAF football team, Geraldton, WA, Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Thursday 26 June 1941 |
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| GERALDTON, WA. 1943-08-15. BAND OF THE 35TH BATTALION, AWM |
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| GERALDTON, WA. 1943-04-17. TROOPS OF 2ND AUSTRALIAN DIVISION PASSING THE SALUTING BASE IN GERALDTON STREET DURING A MARCH PAST BY TROOPS OF THE DIVISION WHEN THE MINISTER FOR THE ARMY, THE HONOURABLE F. M. FORDE TOOK THE SALUTE. AWM |
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| Francis Xavier's Cathedral or Geraldton Cathedralis a Roman Catholic cathedral in Geraldton, Western Australia. It is the seat of Bishop of Geraldton. Construction work on the cathedralbegan on 20 June 1916, Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Thursday 28 November 1946 |
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| Virgilio, on behalf of the GeraldtonVirgilians, hands £40 to Matron Young. The money will buya much-needed steriliser.Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Thursday 18 August 1949 |
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| Said to be the wife of King Billy, a Murchison Aboriginal, W.A. (photograph at call number 008110PD). See a brief item in the Western Mail 27 May 1943, bottom of p.29 which says that she was his "Queen". This has not been confirmed although they are known to have been contemporaries. Her other name, Korjarana, found in the Aboriginal Alias Index at the State Records Office of W.A. Libraries Australia |
1950s
In the 1950s diesel locomotives replaced steam engines at Geraldton.
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| Marine Terrace, Geraldton, Western Australia - 1950s, Aussie~mobs |
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| Civic Centre, Geraldton, Western Australia - 1950s, Aussie~mobs |
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| Sir James Mitchell inspecting a guard of honour from D Company (Geraldton). Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Thursday 5 October 1950 |
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| The procession, led by the marshal (Mr. John Tribe) in costume as a Canadian mounted policeman, passing along Marine-terrace from the assembly point at the wharf to the railway station.Western Mail (Perth, WA : 1885 - 1954), Thursday 5 October 1950 |
1960s |
| WAGR Road Motor Services Coach at Geraldton Station, Western Australia.Taken on Kodachrome on 5 Sep 1966. lindsaybridge |
Around Geraldton
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| Bill Sewell Community Recreation Complex, was, Victoria Districts Hospital and Geraldton Prison, Geraldton WA, Constructed from 1887 |
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| Birdwood House, Geraldton, WA. Also referred to as RSL Hall and Returned Services League Hall, built 1935 |
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| The Hermitage, Geraldton, WA, A retreat house designed by Priest and Architect John Hawes, circa 1936 |
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| Former Geraldton Railway Station, Gera;dton, WA, built 1915 |
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| Nazareth House, Geraldton, WA, built 1941 |
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| Geraldton Town Hall (former), WA, built 1907 |
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| Radio Theatre Building, Geraldton WA, built 1937 |
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| Mission to Seamen Building, Geraldton, WA, built 1864. Has been used as a Church, Government School and Old Lockup |
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| Saint Francis Xavier Church Geraldton, WA, built 1938 |
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| St John's Uniting Church (former), Geraldton, WA, built 1893, User:Orderinchaos |
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| Geraldton Court House, WA, built 1898 |
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| Geraldton Lighthouse Tower & Quarters, Geraldton, WA, built 1876 |
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| Old Geraldton Gaol, WA, established in 1856 at a cost of $1,240 |
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| The Lynton Convict Hiring Depot (1853–1857) was the first convict depot north of Fremantle, was moved to Champion Bay (Geraldton) in 1857, Gregory Rd Yallabatharra |
