Geraldton

 We spent over a week in Geraldton - great weather, great facilities and great coffee.  From here we are heading slowly but surely towards home.

 St Francis Xavier Cathedral was designed by the young English priest/architect Robert Hawes in 1916, a year after came out to Australia. The archdiocese of Geraldton was the largest (larger than all of the UK), poorest and wildest in Australia.  Father Hawes found the heat oppressive but still managed to design dozens of buildings and helped build 5 of them.

 In 1941 Geraldton was the last Australian port of call for HMAS Sydney II which later came across the disguised German raider HSK Kormoran off the Western Australian coast.  The gun battle resulted in both ships being sunk - the Sydney with the loss of all 645 men. The ship's memorial on the hill in town features a dome made of 645 seagulls and a woman looking out to sea for her lost son/husband/brother. 

The trees grow sideways because of the constantly strong southerly wind

Here we are with Maree's cousin - Mary-Jean

Inside St Francis Xavier Cathedral  

St Francis Xavier Cathedral

The Sphere on the foreshore inverts the scenery

Maree and Cousin Mary-Jean

HMAS Sydney Memorial - the ship was lost with 654 crew

Waiting for someone to return home .........


Comments

  1. Unknown13 September 2021 at 21:18

    Hi Travellers

    Lovely to read of your visit to Geraldton! The memorial to the HMAS Sydney is most impressive. Plus the photos of you two with Maree's cousin - great to see you both. Does Mary-Jean live ion Geraldton?

    Glad you will be able to see the AFL Grand Final - Go Dees from this house too!

    Go well and stay safe and take toe slow road home!

    Love from us both as always.

    Pete x x

    ReplyDelete
  2. Catherine15 September 2021 at 23:22

    Hi David and Maree, thank you for all the interesting history of Geraldton and, as always, the gorgeous photos. I'm glad Maree was able to catch up with her cousin! A pleasant change from those strange cousins on the other side of the family!! xxoo

    ReplyDelete
  3. Catherine15 September 2021 at 23:25

    Very happy that you won't miss seeing Melbourne in the Grand Final!! Hope they win for you David!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Maree S20 September 2021 at 04:12

    Wow! St. Francis Xavier cathedral looks lovely, thanks for going in there.
    Glad Maree caught up with her cousin, always great to catch up with relies.
    I saw on the map where Geralton is , long way out of Perth if your going there.
    Enjoy the rest of your trip guys.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Little Outback Trip to Mt Augustus

Image
 After leaving Carnarvon we spent a day and a half, mostly on dirt roads, driving to Mt Augustus.  The campground was very good, the weather a little warmer and the scenery spectacular. We spent 3 nights camped there while we walked and drove around the area.  Mount Augustus is a monocline: a type of rock formation that leans, or 'dips' in a single direction. At 1700 million years old, it is three times older than Uluru and twice its size, making it the largest rock in the world. On the way back to Carnarvon we visited the Kennedy Ranges to see Honeycomb Gorge and Temple Gorge. Wildflowers along the Cobra-Dairy Creek Road on the way to Mt Augustus There are thousands of budgerigars in this area.  We saw these at our lunch stop Nearing Mt Augustus.  Some of the outback roads are really good. One of our many walks Camped at Mt Augustus campground Aboriginal carvings under a rock in one of the gorges More aboriginal carvings in one of the gorges On another walk ...
Read more

The Great Central Road

Image
The Great Central Road (aka The Outback Way) is the shortest practical way from southern WA to Cairns via Central Australia.   The section we travelled was from Laverton in WA to Alice Springs, distance of 1,541km and mostly gravel from Laverton to Yulara near Uluru (Ayers Rock).   The gravel road goes through a very isolated region with only a few roadhouses supplying fuel and basic needs.   Forget about mobile phone reception and listening to the radio. We took 4 leisurely days to cover the distance and camped in some amazing spots.   We had brumbies and camels run across in front of us.   The small sand goannas and lizards tried the same thing but crossed the road more slowly so we managed to drive around them.   We saw more budgies and finches than previously but this time only a few wildflowers. Some parts of the gravel road are fairy corrugated and have taken a toll on cars and caravans.   We saw far more abandoned cars that were burnt out ...
Read more

Heading East

Image
  Now that we’re heading east from Geraldton we are starting the long journey home.   We passed through some wildflower country and several old gold mining towns.   The wreath flowers beside the road near Pindar were spectacular. They only grow in large numbers along a 300 metre stretch of road about 10k north of the town. The towns dating from the 1890s are dying even though there is plenty of gold.   The gold is now mined by FIFO workers who mostly stay and eat in the onsite accommodation provided by the mining companies.  Unfortunately the slowly dying towns show little evidence of the gold and other sought after minerals that surround them. Camped among the wildflowers at Tenindewa Wreath flowers along the road near Pindar Nana and the grandchildren A wreath flower And another one Fringed Lily The entrance to Jokers Tunnel - dug in the 1890s to mine gold G & T time A lonely grave of a miner killed by a rock fall in 1899 Camped at Lake Mason Homestead...
Read more