Why Visit Geraldton?

1. Sometimes the sky lights fire and as scary as it sounds, its pretty superb

2. At the right time of the year, the countryside goes crazy in wildflower growth

3. Geraldton is a fishing and farming town located on the seaside, incase you were unaware

4. If you don’t like the town, you can escape via sailing boats, aeroplanes, buses, surfboards, paddle boards, kite surfing or wind surfing, maybe even swimming if you're not going too far (oh, and jet skis if you can find any)

5. Geraldton has a spectacular history which you can be informed of at our HMAS memorial or the Geraldton museum

6. If being by the water isn’t your thing and neither is learning about our captivating history, Geraldton is home to many sporting clubs as well as a speedway and go-kart track.

This article was submitted as part of the Young Voices program. 

Abby's Croquet News

Croquet, what is it?

Croquet is a sport that includes a mallet, 4 balls and hoops that you hit the balls through.

The Geraldton Croquet club is located on the corner of Maitland Park on the west side. It has been running since 1908.

People often think croquet is for older people but it can be for all ages. To join you have to be 10 and over. While doing Croquet you will get fit and make some new friends.

When I was asked by a friend to go and have a game at “Come and Try” day I was like sure, not really knowing what it was all about. I knew where the place was because we had driven past it quite a number of times and would often see people playing but that was all. My parents were like “Really, all right, then have fun”.

Well when I went, I wanted to go again and again as fun is what it was. I am now a member and even though I am going to school in Perth this year, I am able to play when I come back on holidays. Today there were 6 of us playing and we were all around the same age which was pretty cool. We all had lots of fun, met new people and learnt new skills and techniques.

There are two types of croquet you can play. Association Croquet and Golf Croquet. In Golf Croquet if one person hits the ball through the hoop all the players go to the next hoop, but in Association Croquet all the players have to hit the ball through the hoop before moving to the next hoop. The other members are very helpful and give us a good understanding of the game, the rules and how to score.

The club mallets are for hire for only 5 dollars for 6 months. Croquet is one of the many sports I have tried and it is one of my favourites. Everyone at croquet is kind and caring.

For more information please go to the website Geraldton Croquet Club or call in as the members are all very helpful.

Thank you

Abby Hennighan

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This article is published as part of the Young Voices program. Click here to learn more. 

Pic: Abby Hennighan and Sophie McQuie – after a ‘good fun’ game!

7 things you will find out about living in Geraldton

This article was written by a local student as part of the  Young Voices initiative. 

The City of Greater Geraldton, typically just referred to as Gero, is a thriving country town by the sea. When you enter our town, you’ll find that Gero is in fact a small region, unlike Perth, where ‘North Gero’ and ‘South Gero’ do not exist… you’re either in town or you’re not. However, this isn’t the only thing that you will discover. As many locals know, or probably anyone that’s been around for more than a week, Geraldton has a range of aspects which define its idiosyncrasy. Here are just a few.

1.  Wind

“Come to Geraldton to get blown away” is a common term used by individuals who find ironic humour and puns, funnier than they should be. Whether you’re at the beach, in town or in your backyard. I assure you that there will be a slight breeze. A 25-35 km/h ‘slight’ breeze. The Geraldton wind has become part of our culture; it wouldn’t be Geraldton without it. I mean, we even have a hyper kyphotic tree which is appealed as a tourist attraction because of it. Apart from the impossibility of wearing a hat and peacefully eating fish and chips on the foreshore, the wind does have a few positives. For example, your clothes dry in record time (If they’re still attached to the cloths hoist) and you can play frisbee with yourself (See my other article on “7 innovative uses of the Geraldton wind which will blow you away”). You should just keep an open mind.

2. Finding yourself erupting into spontaneous conversations with random people

Speaking of locals, we’re quite a chatty bunch. We like to take a simple “How yagoin’?” “Great thanks… you?” trade off a step further. “Good to hear, I’m feeling great today, although I’d feel better after this coffee I’m about to order. The weather is great isn’t it? There’s a lovely calm (25-35km/h) wind outside. Are you from town, or just visiting?” and it goes on. Eventually you’ll probably find yourself ‘having to go’ to escape this daunting experience of speaking to people. That’s okay though, you’ll only find yourself in another conversation twenty minutes later, just like the one in the coffee shop, either at the beach or in another store. Really, it can happen everywhere, so be prepared to either stick around or have a list of short excuses to execute a swift departure.

3. Everyone knows everyone

Moving on from this topic of ‘conversation,’ It won’t be long until you just about know every person in town. From your favourite coffee shop, to your grocery store, chemist and bank. You will be on first name terms with just about everyone. It’s an amazing thought, isn’t it? It’s quite a scary one as well. But, sooner or later you will no doubt grow to love it. Geraldton is one of the only places in the world where you can walk into a store and have a thirty minute conversation with the manager, or even speak politics with your waiter. It’s a unique ‘thing’.

3.5. Overly nice customer service

Furthermore it may slightly confronting and odd to have people so eager to help and talk to you. You’d probably think it was a scam and just move on to the next store, only to find the exact same thing. It isn’t a scam, it isn’t marketing, it’s genuine.

4. Oh, and have I mentioned the wind?

To be honest, you’d think we would have some kind of farm manifesting this force into power. I know I’d be a ‘big fan’.

5. Never trusting the weather forecast

On Saturday it’s going to be cloudy with a 70% chance of rain and a ‘slight’ breeze. Except the temperature will be 31 degrees maximum along with a U.V. alert from 8 am until 4.30pm. What?

Basically, treat the weather forecast as a debatable opinion. Geraldton weather cannot be predicted until the preceding morning. As a matter of fact, it probably can’t even be predicted then. There have been days where we have had flash flooding in the morning then drought in the afternoon. So, if you’re making plans based around the weather, be wary. Be subject to change in all circumstances.

6. Everything is 5 minutes away

The saying “I won’t be long, it’s just around the corner” is a common saying used to suppress the thought of a 30 minute drive to a store and back. However, in Geraldton, it’s literally ‘around the corner.’ Everything you need is a five minute drive from your house. Town, sporting facilities, restaurants, everything. The town is one terrace that runs alongside the beach, chances are, walking to the beach from your house would be a breeze. Although for some reason, you don’t often find yourself complaining about a lack of stores or places to go. We seem to have it all here, within the vicinity of a few hundred metres.

7. There is so much more

Apart from what has been mentioned, there are so many more things to see and find out about our great town. I personally have been living in Geraldton my entire schooling life and I’m still finding new things to do and new things to see each and every day. I work as a waiter in a cafe, and every time I work, I meet someone new and unique from the person before. As with every town there are negatives, but here, there are indefinite positives. Go explore and see for yourself!

I couldn’t think of a way to finish this listicle, so I guess I’ll just let it blow over…

Sources;
Creative Commons
Pexels

What have we come to?

The following is published as part of the Young Voices initiative, a program that pays students in Geraldton to publish articles they write. Click here to learn more.

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Australia, a land of "golden soil and wealth for toil", a land "girt by sea". We have a land abounding in "nature's gifts", thought to be "beautiful, rich and rare". Geraldton, a small country town, is contiguous with beautiful beaches, covered with a wide range of parks, sporting complexes and infrastructure, and is filled with many amazing small businesses run by locals. 

Though, this leads me to ask: Why isn't our town, our pristine beaches, and our locally run shops and services flocked with young adults like myself? Why are really cool activities and opportunities bypassed so easily by us teenagers. Why is it so hard for our parents to just get us outside?

What is the first thing that you think of when approached upon the characteristics of a teenager? I guarantee that the majority of people think of the intoxication and addiction to phones that we as a generation adhere. See, people our age prefer to live their phone rather than in the world surrounding us. We prefer to talk with our fingers, play sports with our thumbs and listen to music through a cord. 

As a teen and ex-avid gamer myself, I can't deny that I once preferred to live in and control a simulated world than go outside and 'kick the footy.' 

However, lately I have found that the real world around us, Geraldton, Australia, has so much more to offer than a screen connected to a dark box of cables and circuits. I have found that there are too many iPhones, iPads overriding genuine smiles and conversation. The fact that we need to lift our eyes away from our screens and enjoy the amazing things our town have to offer; to once again realise that social media essentially makes us unsocial.

As a member of the future generation, I plead. I ask that we simply take a little more time to open our eyes and enjoy the life that our country town by the beach has to offer. To start acting upon and experiencing the things that we all have sung before in our very own Australian anthem. Australia is amazing, wake up.

Live.