Geraldton 21/3

This is Nazareth House in Geraldton. Some child migrants from the UK found their way here after the Second World War. These migrants believed they were orphans and were shipped off without knowing they had parents or family still at home. Their plight was covered in the TV drama the Leaving of Liverpool. You can also read about them in the books Empty Cradles by Margaret Humphries and Orphans of the Empire by Alan Gill.



Geraldton has some beautiful buildings including this the old hospital which has also been used as a jail.



We visited the museum which included a shipwreck display containing items from the Dutch ship, the Batavia which sank in 1629. Another ship the Zuytdorp sank in 1712 and relics have been found on land which suggests that some survivors made it ashore and became the first white settlers of Australia. Their fate remains unknown. Here is Jayne dressed as a convict.



Outside the Museum in the harbour we were lucky to see two dolphins hunting for their tea.



This is St Francis Xavier Cathedral, construction began in 1916 and was completed in 1938.



The HMAS Sydney Memorial commorates the loss of 645 men when the ship sank after a battle with a German Ship in 1941. The ship and bodies have never been found. 'The Waiting Woman' is looking out to sea, grieving for her loved one lost at sea. The dome consists of 645 carved seagulls representing each of those men lost.