Geraldton and Northampton have always been closely related – the first railway in WA linked them physically, and they share so many interests. But what a contrast – Northampton, small, quaint and historical, compared to the large, modern and brash Geraldton. We really enjoyed both.
We stayed at Northampton on 9 Sept and at Geraldton on 10, 11, 12 and 13 Sept 2018
Kerry’s snippets in fuchsia
Getting There
Kalbarri > Port Gregory (68km) > Northhampton (48km) > Geraldton (50km) ~ 166kms
History
Clear evidence has established indigenous people living on the west coast of Australia for at least 40,000 years. Today the First Nations people of the region generally identify as “Yamatji” or “Wajarri” people. The Western Australia Museum in Geraldton hosts a permanent exhibit on Yamatji/Wajarri culture and history of the region.
Northampton
The Northampton area has long been known by the Aboriginal people as Mooniemia.
Europeans discovered lead in the Northampton area in 1847, and copper, later, in 1854. The first railway was completed in 1879 running from Geraldton to Northampton, later being extended to Ajana in 1913. With the railway came the expansion of the district’s mining and agriculture, more lead and copper mines were opened up, cereal crops (mainly wheat) were increasing and sheep numbers also increased. Northampton was known as the “The Mines” until 1864, when the townsite was gazetted as Northampton. The first local government offices was built in 1898, and were extensively extended and modified over time.
Today Northampton is the centre of a large pastoral district, and also is popular for its heritage and historic buildings. It boasts three buildings of genuine historic interest – Chiverton House (which is now the local museum), the Church of St Mary in Ara Coeli which was one of the many buildings in the Central West designed by the architect-priest Monsignor John Hawes, and the ruins of Gwalla Church, a true experiment in non–denominational religion built by the ex–convict Joseph Horrocks.
Geraldton
Many European mariners encountered, or were wrecked on, the Houtman Abrolhos islands, 60 kilometres west of Geraldton during the 17th and 18th centuries. The wreck of the Batavia – flagship of the Dutch East India Company on her maiden voyage – on Morning Reef of the Houtman Abrolhos in 1629, and the events surrounding the subsequent mutiny, rescue and punishment of her crew are of great historical significance to the region.
In 1839, George Grey became the first recorded European to explore the region. Grey, walking back to Fremantle (from Shark Bay) after a disastrous expedition to the North-West Cape, made note of the fertile land. This stimulated other Swan River (Perth) colonists to make journeys by ship to the area, but many viewed the land as too dry.
In 1846 two exploration parties were sent out, led by John Septimus Roe and Augustus Gregory. Gregory returned with glowing reports of good pastoral land and coal deposits in the mid-west coastal region. The discovery of a coal seam in the Irwin River, lead and copper in the Murchison River and pastoral opportunities in the hinterland created a boom in the area. Ore exports from the Murchison River mines began in 1849 and soon after Gregory was instructed to survey a town site.
In 1851 the town site of Geraldton was declared and the first sale of Geraldton land lots were sold by public auction in Perth. In 1871, Geraldton was officially proclaimed a town and in 1879, the construction of the first government railway in the State began, which carried lead ore from Northampton to the port (55km). The port became a vital part of Geraldton’s economy and became one of the State’s major seaports. By the early 1900’s the fishing industry in Geraldton was established, attracting Norwegians, Danes, Swedes and later Italians. In 1988 the town of Geraldton was officially declared a city.
Today the port city is the centre of fishing, manufacturing, construction, agriculture and tourism industries of the Mid-West region of the State. Geraldton is also known as the ‘Lobster Capital of the World’.
Day 1 – 9 Sept – drive to Northampton via the magical Pink Lake
The landscape gradually changed from the natural coastal scrub of the National Park into more lands worked for farming. Brilliant yellow rape crops made a hell of splash on the landscape.
We were soon driving alongside Hutt Lagoon, the so called “pink lake”. We could see hints of pink on this eastern side, but not the true pink we had expected. And frustratingly we could not stop anywhere to approach the lake. Finally we saw a rest area with what looked like a track to the lake, so we pulled over. The track took us close to the lake but the last 20m or so was very boggy. But we took some photos thinking that was it for the pink lake.
Then we came to the Port Gregory turnoff and went right, and quite quickly the lake got pinker, and this continued as we drove the western side of the lake. We came to a photo point which was very busy – just got Mobi in. Here the lake looked glorious. The pink hue is created by bacteria becoming trapped in the salt granules.
We drove on to Port Gregory and around the corner from the photo spot we came to a great viewing area of the lake. We pulled over – pinker than pink here. Great photos. We even happened to be colour-coordinated with the lake.
To see a short video of the Pink Lake, click here
In the town we went down to the beach and jetty. Nice sandy beach in both directions.
At the jetty we saw a truck clearly unloading what we hoped would be fresh fish for sale or even a lobster. At the truck a couple told us that it was lobsters the fishermen had got – crates of them. The chief fisherman was their grandson. Each box was full and there were about 10 boxes that we saw being taken from the boat and put on the truck. They were still going when we left. The lobsters were going direct to China. At the side of the loading areas were 6 or 7 large boxes of frozen fish – this was the bait for the next lot of lobster pots. These were rapidly being loaded into a tender to be taken out to the lobster boat.
On the way out of town, back the way we had come, we got some more shots of the pink lake.
The drive on to the heritage town of Northampton was increasingly through farmlands, with vast fields of vivid green – something we have not seen for a long, long while. And also vivid yellow from expansive rape crops. There were also many wildflowers.
We got to Northampton by late morning and quickly had Mobi set up – we were only staying 1 night so we did not need to get much out. The Park is good – we are delighted to see a grassed site and it feels so good to stand barefooted on grass again. The facilities are good, especially the camp kitchen.
After lunch we went up to town to look at the historical buildings. We started at the old Convent, which is now a hotel – a beautiful building that opened in October 1919. Hope that banner for the show, which we missed by 1 day, is not a permanent feature. It remained a convent up to 1983.
Next door is the Catholic church, which was completed in 1935 – a very impressive building, but closed.
Up at the centre of town we came across the quirky feature of the town – painted sheep. We saw them in many places. It sounds corny, but they are a wonderful, friendly addition to the streets.
The town centre has many lovely old buildings, including a couple of pubs, the old store, a butchers shop, a chemist, a post office, and many more. The visitors centre was the original police station and jail, built in 1885. We love to see these original buildings being preserved and used.
We really liked the Hampton Gardens, with its lovely rotunda in the centre.
We drove down to the railway precinct, which is excellent but all locked up (Sunday). The station building is so small but makes such a bold statement. In front of that is one of the country carriages from the early parts of the 1900s. This is actually one of 10 “composite lavatory cars” build in 1915-16. Each carriage had a separate little toilet, even the 2nd Class sections. Now that would be something to brag to family and friends about, wouldn’t it – going on holidays in a “composite lavatory car”.
We found the botanical walk. We drove around town outside the historical part and found lots of wild flowers quickly. The town had set up a short walk – with raised garden beds on one side showcasing so many gorgeous flowers. All colours, all sizes. What a great thing to do. I love the native fuchsia (3rd and 4th pics).
Finally we went to the museum, which opens from 2pm to 4pm. The very enthusiastic lady on reception took our $3 admittance fee and put on the dvd of the photographic history of the town and how it has changed over the years. This was actually very good.
The museum, Chiverton House, was built by Captain Samuel Mitchell, the manager of the Geraldine Mine, between 1867-1874. It later housed the local branch of the Western Australian Bank. It contains a mass of historical items and unusual pieces of memorabilia. There are also some very interesting old kitchen utensils including a strange butter cutter. Outside, there are old horse carriages, tractors, and even a 1923 model T Ford ute with timber spoiled wheels. The museum’s emphasis is on the unusual rather than the common place, which makes it well worth a visit. The lady also accompanied us around for a while, explaining various bits and pieces. Very interesting history. The everlasting flowers out the back of the house were pretty spectacular too, including a large drift of lupins. I asked her about the everlastings and said I’d just love to grow them at home. She came back with a big plastic bag full of seeds for me, as well as a small bunch of fresh flowers to hang upside down to dry out. Such a nice thing to do.
That evening we walked across to the Tavern for a meal. But first we had a game of pool and I have to say I sunk some amazing shots, some of which were actually planned in a wishful thinking kind of way. Very frustrating to lose yet again.
Day 2 – 10 Sept – to and at Geraldton
Morning highlighted the fact that we are now a long way south in WA, and as we had closed the awning because of some strong winds, there was a heavy dew and everything outside was wet. And it was cold.
One of the reasons that we had stayed in Northampton for a night was that we could then arrive at Geraldton on a Monday morning. We wanted to go to the caravan wokshop and sort out the awning. We got there at about 9 and it was chaotic with caravans arriving from every direction. We were told to go and park in the area opposite – which was already packed with vans.
We got in as the door opened and talked to a a very practical women who knew all about awnings. She said that our curved rafters would be fine, despite what the tradesman at Karratha told us, and we agreed that all we needed was to install an anti flapper kit – a more structural unit that fits onto each end of the awning and locks it in place. But could they do the installation for us? Well she went to talk to the big boss Steve, and we agreed that we would bring Mobi there at 7am on Wednesday, when we would be moving on. They could get it done quite quickly (we hope) and send us on our way.
We were at the Geraldton Belair Gardens CP before 10 and that was OK by them to admit us. Unfortunately this is a Park where much of it was designed for much older and smaller vans. Our site was wide but not deep. As well, it was on a very narrow dead end road and directly opposite our site were permanent fixtures right on the edge of the road. We would also have to back in over our left shoulder rather than an easier right shoulder reverse. We knew immediately that this would be a difficult one.
Our first couple of attempts – Kerry driving and me guiding – had us too far across the road where the permanent fixtures stopped The Cruiser turning. So we shuffled Mobi about a bit and again got everything on a straight line. Then we went again and actually got it in very well without too much yelling. I also got out and moved a statue to give the car a bit more space to manoeuvre.
I find this Park not an easy place to live in. There are funny one way and dead end roads and no through traffic roads through it, and I just didn’t get a good feel for it. The ablutions are a bit dark and dinghy, but clean. Much prefer Northampton.
Later we drove around to the port in search of fresh seafood. There was only one shop and the seafood came from Shark Bay. Which means that is was frozen. We bought some prawns and whiting fillets for dinner. Then we went shopping. Woolworths had a special on BWS – if we spent $160 +, I get 4000 points which is quite a lot of Qantas points… We stocked up, also getting a pretty good discount.
The whiting was excellent! I cooked the whiting with roast potatoes and some veggies for dinner….. Just delicious – just with a bit of fine crumbs and a touch of oil. I think whiting has been my favourite fish for quite a while…. unless I could get hold of some more “Jewel” fish, but I guess thats unlikely as its a Gulf fish generally.
Day 3 – 11 Sept – Geraldton
It rained overnight and we woke to a blustery, cold, cloudy day – not what we had been used to up north. We did not hurry out to go exploring. But when we did we first looked at the beach Moore Point – just near the Van Park. This is also near the massive port for commercial export. We worked our way around the point looking first at the beach at Moore Point. It was a good beach.
Further around the point is Greys Beach, named after the English explorer George Grey. In 1839, his boat was wrecked at Kalbarri. Without supplies he decided to walk with his party 600km south to Perth and followed the well-established paths of the Aboriginal people. He found Geraldton to be excellent and his reports on the areas led to increasing settlement. He came across many Aboriginal people and recorded his surprised at the achievements of the Aboriginal people in managing the land and other natural resources. Grey’s is also a good beach.
From there we went into town to look at its old buildings. First up was the very unusual Freemasons Hotel, a remarkable looking building and a Geraldton icon. In the early 1870s, the original Freemasons Hotel commenced business on the site adjacent to today’s hotel. The present Freemasons Hotel was built in 1895. The hotel’s name reportedly comes from the original use of the building as a meeting place for the local Masons.
Close to there is the Court House, a very imposing building, initially constructed in 1898, after a number of problems with the original building. When completed, the building became the home of Lands and Mines, Treasury, Police, Customs and Shipping and included both police and session courts. The building functioned like this until 1988 when all of the building’s occupants except for the-then Crown Law Department moved out. Then the building was remodelled solely as a courthouse.
The waterfront through the town is excellent – completely revamped from the old railway yards. The redevelopment is also continuing further around to the east and north – this is going to be a great asset to the town. There is also an excellent marina. Near the museum, is a replica of a longboat from the Bativia.
The museum (The Museum of Geraldton) is excellent, starting with a large section on First Nations life – it hosts a permanent exhibit on Yamatji/Wajarri culture and history of the region. At the time of initial colonisation in the coastal Mid West area, features recorded by explorers were:
- villages with relatively large huts.
- well defined pathways linking water holes and other important resources or places, as well as for trade.
- the intensive use of land, sea and vegetation.
- a relatively large or at least densely settled population.
- trading of tools, weapons and ornaments, some over vast distances.
There is a lot to see and do here, and much is high tech – a lot of funding has been provided here with great results. We really appreciated the video (in 3D no less) on the sinking of HMAS Sydney – very moving. We could have spent much more time at the museum but were running out of car parking time. There were also a lot of displays about the ship-wrecks of which there have been many along this section of the coast – from the Batavia in 1629. There were lots of salvaged pieces from the wrecks – from silver coins, to pottery and metal shards and even a couple of complete glass tumblers as well as great information boards too describing many of these.
Across the road is the old railway station with a massive expanse of open land before it – a new development is planned. The station is now used for commercial businesses.
We walked through the main streets fo the city and were surprised to see very few people about, very few customers in shops, and so many shops completely empty and up for rent. It felt like almost every second shop. This is a real contrast to the amazing development taking place along the waterfront, and in other places around town. It has a strong vibe but the number of closed businesses would seem to indicate a town doing it tough.
We saw the St Francis Xavier Cathedral but did not stop to go in. The foundation stone was laid in 1916 and the building completed in 1938. This was also built by the architect Monsignor Hawes.
We also snapped a few other older buildings.
Day 3 – 11 Sept – Mobi repairs and leaving
We were up very early and underway by 6.10 to get Mobi to Country Time Caravans to have the deflappers fitted. Whilst this was going on, we went back into town and up to the memorial to the sinking of the HMAS Sydney. This is an excellent site with a striking central dome, a water feature, a statue of a “waiting wife”, and really good information panels. All very tastefully done. This memorial is incredibly poignant… So many men killed so tragically. The statue of the “Waiting Wife” was eerily lifelike.
From there we went back to pick up Mobi by about 8.30, and then drove on to Mingenew to go see the wildflowers. Country Time had done a quick and professional job.
Day 4 – 13 Sept – Unplanned revisit
After our time in Mingenew, where a low branch mangled our rooftop aircon, we returned to Geraldton to have Country Time Caravans fix it all up for us.
As we drove into Country Time from Mingenew, one of the workers said, “weren’t you here yesterday morning?”. We explained. Kerry told Steve that we would be paying for the repair and then claiming from NRMA. Steve then went out to have a look at the damage, and after an expletive, shook his head and went out to get his steps.
“You may be lucky,” he said, “just checking for roof damage”.
“You are incredibly lucky,” he said, although after the morning we had had we did not feel it. “No problems with the roof at all. We can pop a replacement in there without too much fuss. And I just happen to have a unit in stock – I checked,” he said with a grin.
“Should be ready in a few of hours”.
That conversation gave us a new meaning to the word relief. We unhitched the van and went into town where we found a shopping centre open for tea/coffee, then we had a walk on the beach but it was cold and windy so not great. Snug in The Cruiser, we read our books until we got the call. The relief was palatable… I had expected to be held up in Geraldton for a couple of weeks perhaps, throwing our plans into disarray. Thank heavens Steve had the part and the van hadn’t been seriously damaged.
Steve told us not to travel far that day – to set the silicone set properly. We stayed at at the Sunset Beach CP, which was much better than the Geraldton Belair Gardens CP. It is open and spacious and we had a long drive-through site, although it is narrow. I guess that these narrow sites are for the 1-nighters, many of whom don’t unhitch.
To see photos for this post, click here
To see a short video on the Pink Lake, click here