Geraldton
Postcode: 6530
Geraldton is a city and port in Western Australia located 424 kilometres (263 mi) north of Perth. According to the 2001 census, Geraldton has a population of 29,996, making it the fifth-largest city in Western Australia.
Today the city is an important centre for mining, fishing, wheat, sheep and tourism.
Though many European maritime explorers encountered or were even wrecked on the Houtman Abrolhos islands 60 kilometres (37 mi) west of Geraldton in the 17th and 18th centuries, there seems to be no evidence that any made landfall near the site of the current town. The first European to explore the area was George Grey in 1839. A decade later the explorer Augustus Gregory travelled through the area. He discovered lead on the Murchison River and the mine which was subsequently established was named Geraldine after the Governor Charles Fitzgerald. The town of Geraldton was gazetted in 1850.