In and around Geraldton

Greetings bloggers

Great to catch up again. We have been busy but not really in the right place and time for blogging. Mount Magnet provided lots of history and places further to the west were varied and interesting with some unusual things to see. Geraldton is quite a big place-  35000 people-  and all the trimmings-  maccas and other fast food galore, supermarkets, touristy places but the worst part of our travels on this side of the continent has been the wind. One guy we met described it as a lazy wind-  too lazy to go round you just goes right through you! The gold rush was such a big part of the towns in this area and the museum at Mt Magnet didnt disappoint with a variety of displays to conjure up how things were in times past. This stamper crushed the gold bearing rock onto a fine powder and then they extracted the gold from this. 

The hearse would have been quite a sight going down the main street - such style to go out in!!

Kerry always interested in the machinery

Hope you can read this story of tragedy and courage

The open cut at Mt Magnet -above and below - is still working and producing plenty of gold. The workers are all fly in fly out so the town has lost much of its population but is trying to reinvent itself in other ways.

Our first view of the sea - it had taken about  6500km and lots of places in between but we were finally here.

Cant help but put more wildflowers in each blog - each new one seems more beautiful than the last.

Even when the plant is struggling they still flower

Some of the lonely tales of gold rush days - this grave of mother and child felled by typhoid was in the middle of nowhere probably where they perished.

All that was left of the Lennonville Railway Station which was such a busy place in goldrush days. This now ghost town had 6 pubs in its heyday - all the towns were measured in size by the number of pubs they had!!

We loved the churches designed by the architerct priest Monseigneur John Hawes - this little cutie was at Yalgoo - the first of 3 we saw

This beautiful one we saw in Mullewa

And the last of his was this one in Geraldton

The countryside was changing now with so much green - wheat and this field of canola were the first of many

More green countryside and this very loooong train - we weren't sure what it was carting but some sort of brown ore

Geraldton foreshore

The Hmas Sydney Memorial in a park overlooking the harbour was very poignant - the dome over the eternal flame was made of 654 doves to denote the number of men who died when the Sydney went down. There were many survivors of the Kormoran and much debate has gone on over what really happened.

The waiting woman signifying the many who waited and hoped.