Geraldton
The Coral Coast Capital
On the lands of the Yamatji people.
schedule 1 min read / Updated Apr 2026
The largest city on Western Australia's Coral Coast, halfway between Perth and Shark Bay. Geraldton is best known as the home of the HMAS Sydney II Memorial and the launch point for trips to the Houtman Abrolhos Islands.
Geraldton was founded in 1850 as a port for the lead and copper mines around Northampton. Today it is the largest city on the long stretch of coast between Perth and Carnarvon, with a population of around 38,000. It sits on Yamatji country.
The HMAS Sydney II Memorial on Mount Scott commemorates the 645 sailors lost when the cruiser was sunk by the German raider Kormoran in 1941, the largest single Australian military loss of life in any naval action. The memorial features a granite wall with the names of all 645 sailors and a dome of 645 silver gulls.
The Houtman Abrolhos Islands, around 60 kilometres offshore, were the site of the 1629 Batavia shipwreck, one of the most famous and disturbing events in early European exploration history. The islands are now a national park and home to a major rock lobster fishery. Day flights from Geraldton over the islands run year-round.
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- Brand Hwy 363 N Rudds Gully.jpg · SyntaxTerror · Public domain
- Orbicular granodiorite (Neoarchean, 2.687 Ga; Warroan Hill,... · James St. John · CC BY 2.0
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