Petition created to protest mining at Oakabella

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An online petition at change.org has been set up protesting a proposed quarry at Oakabella, which is between Geraldton and Northampton. 

Tonya Constantine, who set up the petition, stated that:

Oakabella is a part of the Moresby Range and the Local Planning Strategy states "Developments not in keeping with the landscape qualities such as quarries and rural industry should be located outside the Moresby Range if possible"

The quarry proposal is clearly contrary to the Councils (sic) (Shire of Northampton) own Local Planning Strategy.

Quarrying the rock at Oakabella has long been of interest. 108 years ago, the newspaper "The Geraldton Express" ran an article (link) about the Mayor and Town Clerk journeying to Oakabella to find a suitable place to establish a quarry. 

Click here to visit the petition.

Mayor says City has bright future for big events

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Geraldton will be a backdrop for many more big events just like the Toyota Australian SUP Titles held in Geraldton. Photo: Surfing WA

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn says the City is dedicated to bringing high profile events to Geraldton through dedicated support and sponsorship.

In the aftermath of the Toyota Australian SUP Titles held in Geraldton, Mayor Van Styn said this was just the beginning of larger scale events coming to the region.

Hundreds of competitors from all across Australia made their way to Geraldton to compete across a number of SUP categories with the competition made possible by a $20,000 grant from the City.

Mayor Van Styn reiterated the fact that this sponsorship was part of the City’s broader strategy to attract large scale events to the Midwest.

“We were absolutely stoked to host the SUP titles for the second year in a row and Geraldton is the perfect location,” he said.

“This is just another example of a big event that we have sponsored and we will be supporting many more major events in the future so we can see more high profile events here in the Midwest whether it is sport, music or other forms of entertainment.

“We want to be a destination of choice for events and we are dedicated to sponsoring events that we know our community will enjoy.”

In the last year alone the City has seen the likes of Cold Chisel, triple j’s One Night Stand event and the Perth Wildcats will head to Geraldton next week for two pre-season games.

“We are really starting to put Geraldton on the map as a destination for high profile events,” Mayor Van Styn said.

“The big events we have secured in the past have been so successful and we can see the positive flow on effects it is having on our tourism and economy.

“Next we will look at the possibility of an AFL pre-season match here in Geraldton.

“Sport is such a big part of our community and that is why we want to support events such as the Toyota Australian SUP Titles and we will look to support other future events,” Mayor Van Styn added.

Surfing WA Events Manager Justin Makes said he couldn’t be happier with how the 2016 Australian SUP Titles wrapped up.

"Geraldton has proven to be the perfect location for both SUP racing and surfing,” he said.

“We had amazing weather and waves over the four-day event window and Australia's best SUP competitors have revelled off the Batavia Coastline.

“This was arguably the best Australian SUP Titles ever and we're thrilled with the outcome."

Footpath works on North West Coastal Highway

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The City of Greater Geraldton wishes to advise it will be renewing the footpath on the Northwest Coastal Highway between Marsden and Wittenoom Streets with concreting works scheduled to commence on Monday 12 September 2016 for a period of approximately six days.

The anticipated hours of work will be between from 6am to 6pm and include removing the slab path and replacing it with a user friendly concrete path.

These works are part of $1,041,084 allocated in the 2016/17 Budget for the renewal of footpaths which will see approximately 1.68km of the footpath network replaced.

Members of the community are requested to exercise caution and obey all warning signs and directions from authorised City personnel and contractors.

The City apologises for any inconvenience these works may cause.

If you have any queries please contact Moneer Fates, Project Manager on 08 9956 6600 or email council@cgg.wa.gov.au.

7 things you should know if you plan on moving to Geraldton

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So you've decided to move to Geraldton. Great. We're happy to have you. 

Here's a few tips that we hope will help you settle in. 

This block is over 2000m2

700m2 is not a large block

Yeah, we heard in Perth that a large block is 400 m2, that's madness. Anything under 700m2 is tiny. No one blinks at 2000 m2 blocks, which are about half the price of a Perth block. We need somewhere for the shed, the dog, the trampoline, and the veggie patch. So if you notice that all the blocks here are massive, they're actually not. You're just used to living in a cubicle.

Everything is only 8 minutes away

With a few exceptions, you can get anywhere in 8 minutes. That means we all arrive at events within 30 seconds of each other. So if you get somewhere 5 minutes early, don't be surprised if you're the only one there. 

Our tap water tastes like the Dead Sea

Get a reverse osmosis water filter or buy bottled water. Or better still, a rain water tank. But don't drink the tap water. 

No one is impressed with your new whatever

Got a new BMW? Fancy hair cut? Expensive suit? No one cares. Geraldton people are all pretty down to earth. It's hard to tell millionaires and tradies apart tbh. We care more that you're a decent bloke or woman; we don't choose our friends based on their net worth. 

Yeah we already know Gero's a great place to live

It shocks a lot of Perthies when they spend some time here, then realise their perception of Geraldton was completely wrong. You can point it out to us if you really need to. But we already know how great Gero is to call home. That's why we're here!

Yes, the weather really is that much better than Perth

Only 4 hours north of Perth, but the extra few degrees makes a big difference in winter, and summers are definitely a time of consistent beach/pool action. And we're not quite as far north as the insane troppo weather. Take up a water sport and you won't regret it. Preferably one that benefits from windy conditions, like Kite Boarding. 

We have much faster internet than most of Perth

A bunch of scientists convinced a bunch of bureaucrats to spend billions of dollars to build a massive radio telescope array inland from Geraldton (SKA) so we can find aliens. Somehow that translated into much of Geraldton getting fibre to the premises NBN before most of Perth. On top of that we have a local ISP called Node 1 who built their own wireless network that gets NBN-like speeds. We had this even before the NBN rolled out. 

So yeah, Perth may be a bit of a technological backwater. But you can expect to get decent internet speeds throughout most of Geraldton. 

If you need any actual advice on moving to or living in Geraldton, click here to check out our "Im new to Geraldton" section. 

Opening of Abraham Street bridge marks end of Karloo Wandina Project

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Member for Agriculture the Hon. Paul Brown MLC, City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn and Federal Member for Durack Melissa Price MP cut the ribbon - officially opening the Abraham Street bridge.

The official opening of the Abraham Street bridge and roundabout at the intersection of Abraham Street and Utakarra Road marks the completion of the Karloo Wandina project which began with the construction of Verita Road in July 2013.

The staged development of the Karloo Wandina Project over the last three years has been one of the City’s largest Capital Works projects to date totalling more than $25 million.

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said many local contractors had directly benefitted from the project.

“The 65m long bridge over the Southern Transport Corridor that connects Verita Road with Abraham Street has created an important link between the northern and southern suburbs,” he said.

“The project has injected more than $15 million into the local economy by employing more than 20 local contractors who provided products or services during the construction of the project.”

The project has also resulted in improved community safety and convenience.

“Before the bridge opened there were more than 1600 traffic movements a day on Verita Road and we expect this number will increase as motorists take advantage of the new linkage the bridge provides,” Mayor Van Styn said.

“To ensure the expected increase in traffic keeps flowing whilst maintaining community safety the T-intersection at Abraham Street and Utakarra Road was changed to a roundabout.

“This project has been three years in the making and is already changing the way people move throughout our City.”

Construction of the $9.8 million Abraham Street bridge and roundabout was jointly funded with Royalties for Regions contributing $5,970,000, the Australian Government Building Better Regional Cities Program $1,030,000 and the City $2,820,000.

All you need to know about the new iPhone 7

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At 1am WA time Apple presented their new iPhone 7 to a live audience in California, and live streamed around the world. 

With smartphones now being our most used personal computers, the latest offerings from Apple are always watched with interest. 

Around half of the 40,000 weekly visitors to Everything Geraldton use iPhones or iPads to browse our website. 

Here's a rundown on some key features of the new iPhone 7, along with several other announcements Apple made at the event. 

Two models

The 7, and the 7 plus.

The main differences other than size is the plus gets a much better camera. More on that later. 

Apple is also keeping the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus available, along with the iPhone SE. 

Shiny

There's a new colour called Jet Black which is a high gloss black.

The other colours are not high gloss. There's a new mat black, along with Gold, Rose Gold and Silver.

Home button improvements

They've added haptic feedback (they call it "taptic") to the home button. Might be a nice feature, but it's the kind of thing you'd need to try to see if it's useful. 

Water and dust resistant

Based on many people's real world experience, it seems Apple quietly introduced this feature in the previous model (the 6s and 6s plus) without telling anyone, perhaps to test how effective their water proofing will be. But they're putting it on the box this time. So ideally those accidental toilet drops won't cost you a thousand bucks. 

Improved camera

What Apple has achieved with a tiny pocket camera is nothing short of remarkable. 

The smaller phone, the 7, now gets optical image stabilisation. Previously one had to purchase the larger "plus" to get that feature. Some other new features include:

  • f1.8 aperture 
  • 12 MP sensor
  • True Tone flash with 4 LEDs
  • Flicker sensor
  • Image signal processor has twice the throughput of previous versions.
  • Can now edit Live photos
  • Devs can edit Live photos with new API
  • RAW camera API
  • Wide colour capture API 
  • 7MP FaceTime camera (up from 5)

While the above may sound rather technical, suffice to say it's notably better than the 6s, which was class leading. 

The new 7 plus gets all of the above, and something extra. 

It has two cameras. One is a normal wide angle lens. The other is a telephoto lens. This provides a couple of neat features. The first, and most obvious, is you can zoom in more when taking photos. Very handy. 

The other feature is the ability to take photos with something of a bokeh effect in a new mode called "portrait". Bokeh refers to the visual quality of the out of focus area behind a subject. Usually you need a high end camera to do this, but using the two cameras, and some neat software tricks that creates a digital depth map, Apple has achieved this feature on a smartphone. 

An image taken with the iPhone 7 plus, showing the bokeh effect when using "portrait" mode. 

To be clear, Apple executive Phil Schiller explicitly stated you should not throw out your DSLR. But, this camera certainly will be the best camera many people have ever owned. 

The software needed to drive the new feature doesn't appear to be ready yet though. Apple have said it will be released as an update for 7 plus users later in the year. 

Display

The screen is 25% brighter than the last model, and has a wider colour gamut. 

Speakers

 

Last year Apple introduced stereo speakers on its iPad Pro line. And I can tell you it's brilliant. 

Now they've brought stereo speakers to the iPhone. There's a speaker at the bottom, as usual, and one on the top. I doubt it will sound quite as good as the iPad Pro, as there's simply less space to work with in the iPhone. But for all that video watching we now do on our phones, it will be a useful improvement. 

No headphone jack

This fact was either leaked by Apple deliberately a long time ago, or was simply the worst kept secret ever. 

Yes, Apple has removed the headphone jack completely from the iPhone. 

It will ship headphones in the box that use a lightning cable, as well as a free adaptor that allows you to continue to use your existing analogue jack headphones. 

"Lightning" is the name of Apple's proprietary charging and connection port on iPhone and iPad. 

They gave three reasons for their decision to remove the headphone jack, a technology that has been around for over 100 years now.

1. Apple thinks the lightning headphones are a better connector. 
2. They're running out of space inside the phone for other technologies they want to include.
3. Apple's ultimate vision for how audio should work is wireless. 

I've been pondering this change for several months now. I often charge my phone while I have headphones plugged in. 

And I simply hate bluetooth headphones. They're usually too bulky to use lying on a pillow, and the pairing and un-pairing experience is horrible and unreliable. 

Quite simply, unless Apple did something completely new, I was not going to be a happy customer. 

But Apple exceeded my expectations with the new wireless Air Pods. 

The ear piece is the same style as Apple's ear pods, which I find to be the most comfortable of any in ear headphone on the market. And there are no cables. They look like they belong in the sci fi movie "Her". And they don't use the God-awful standard that is bluetooth. 

Apple promises they have a consistent and reliable connection and will only play when you're listening to them as they have sensors that detect when they're in your ear. You can access Siri with a simple double tap, and they detect when you're speaking. 

They seem very simple to connect, and the case they come in is a battery. They'll last 5 hours on a charge, or 24 hours combining the case/battery life. 

Apple-owned headphone company "Beats" is also coming out with a range of headphones that use Apple's proprietary pairing technology. All of a sudden Apple's purchase of Beats a couple of years ago makes a lot of sense. 

Again, Apple failed to have these ready for the iPhone launch. They're promising they'll have them later in the year. 

The AirPods will retail for $229.

Tech specs?

For the most part, tech specs are pretty meaningless. Real world bench testing is a far better way of knowing how fast your phone will actually be to use. Interestingly, the year old iPhone 6s is still faster than anything else on the market (except this new iPhone 7).

Here's some tech specs for those of you who are interested: 

Chip is called A10 fusion chip. 
64bit
4 core
2 cores are high performance
40% faster than 6s
Double the speed of the 6
2 cores are high efficiency cores for longer battery life.
Device switches between cores depending on usage. 

GPU:
6 core
50% faster than last model (A9)
3 x fast than A 8

Battery life

Battery life has improved somewhat from the last model. From the 6s to the 7, you'll expect an extra two hours of life. From the 6s Plus to the 7 plus you can expect an extra 1 hour. 

Storage

The base model phone starts at 32Gb of storage, instead of 16Gb. This will be a godsend for those of you who alway buy the cheapest model. 

Up from there is 128Gb, and 256Gb. 

It's worth noting the Jet Black only comes in 128Gb and 256Gb. 

Pricing (Australian)

7
32Gb = $1079
128Gb = $1229
256Gb = $1379

7 plus
32Gb = $1269
128Gb = $1419
256Gb = $1569

Old models

Apple will keep available the previous models, iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, as well as the smaller iPhone SE, at lower prices.

When can I buy the iPhone 7

Pre orders start at 3:01pm WA time, 9 September 2016. Jump onto Apple.com/au

What else did Apple announce?

New Mario game from Nintendo on iPhone (Great for Mario lovers, not very innovative game play.)

Real Time Collaboration on iWork documents (only 4 years too late)

Pokemon Go coming to Apple Watch (this will be awesome)

Apple Watch Series 2 (very cool, perhaps we'll do another post on this)

Apple Watch Nike Plus (perfect for runners)

 

 

Governor of Western Australia visits Geraldton

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Geraldton was honoured to have Her Excellency the Honourable Kerry Sanderson AC pay a visit this week. 

Following visits to numerous community organisations over the last two days, a civic reception for the Governor was held this evening at the new Multi Purpose Centre on Geraldton's foreshore, which included a traditional dance (see video below), and was attended by many community leaders. 

In a short speech to those in attendance, Her Excellency shared that she had come in a community role, to learn more about what is happening in the region. 

She will be visiting Mullewa and Mt Magnet tomorrow. 

The Governor of Western Australia is the representative of the Queen of Australia, Elizabeth II. 

The Governor performs constitutional, ceremonial and community functions, including:

  • presiding over the Executive Council;
  • proroguing and dissolving the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council;
  • issuing writs for elections; and
  • appointing Ministers, Judges, Magistrates and Justices of the Peace.

Furthermore, all Bills passed by the Parliament of Western Australia require the Governor's signature before they become Acts and pass into law. (Wikipedia)

Kerry Sanderson succeeded Malcolm McCusker in October 2014.

HorseHead and I (honestly) Love You at Queens Park Theatre

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If you’re up for some quirky comedy don’t miss out on a brilliant double header of two short comedy plays at the Queens Park Theatre!

HorseHead and I (honestly) Love You will hit the QPT stage on Saturday 10 September at 8pm.

HorseHead will present a whip-cracking tale of two men on a viciously gruesome task while rom com I (honestly) Love You will bring to light the real truth of relationships.

Get your tickets now at www.queensparktheatre.com.au

 

City seeks feedback on Mountain Bike Master Plan

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With mountain bike riding along the Chapman River more popular than ever before the City has developed a master plan for trail riding that includes the protection of the environment. 

The Chapman River Regional Park Mountain Bike Trails Plan identifies opportunities within the Park to provide high quality mountain biking experiences for residents and visitors whilst protecting the unique biodiversity of the area through effective trail management and informational signage. 

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said almost one fifth of Western Australians own mountain bikes and are looking for places to ride them. 

“Almost 120,000 mountain bikes are purchased every year in WA which means about 19 per cent of WA residents own mountain bikes,” he said. 

“These cyclists are actively seeking places to ride their bikes in ever increasing numbers with some trails in the south west Kalamunda Circuit in being ridden more than 50,000 times in 12 months.” 

With demand for mountain biking experiences exceeding supply, the development of trails in the Chapman River Regional Park would result in economic benefits for the local community. 

“Once the Mountain Bike Trail Plan has been adopted by Council and the trails in the plan are formalised, Geraldton would be able to attract visitors interested in undertaking this type of informal recreation activity,” said Mayor Van Styn. 

“The City would also play an important role in assisting WA in becoming a world class mountain bike destination, effectively diversifying the state’s tourism industry whilst securing meaningful economic and social outcomes for our local community.” 

The Chapman River Regional Park Mountain Bike Trails Plan is open for public comment till Wednesday 28 September 2016.  Members of the community are invited to make written submissions regarding the draft plan by visiting the City’s consultations page on the website at www.cgg.wa.gov.au.

Are you interested in doing a Bachelor of Environmental Science?

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​GUC explores a Bachelor of Environmental Science with CQUniversity and CRT-BCMI

Are you interested in doing a Bachelor of Environmental Science?

If so, come along to the Course Information Session for Bachelor of Environmental Science 5-6pm Wednesday 7 September, Geraldton Universities Centre, 33 Onslow Street Geraldton

GUC is in discussions with Central Regional TAFE, and its Batavia Coast Maritime Institute, as well as industry and CQUniversity, around introducing this degree to Geraldton from 2017.

The Bachelor of Environmental Science will enable students to develop the knowledge and skills required for employment related to environmental monitoring, management and ecologically sustainable development.

Career Opportunities: Completion of the Bachelor of Environmental Science will prepare students to pursue employment opportunities in roles such as:

* environmental officer

* environmental consultant

* environmental scientist

* vegetation management officer

Employment opportunities exist within public and private sectors, for example; local catchment authorities, regional resource management organisations, State and Federal Government natural resource management departments, environmental consulting firms, local councils and mining companies.

EXPRESS YOUR INTEREST NOW!

Should there be enough local interest students would enrol in the CQUniversity’s Bachelor of Environmental Science as distance students but receive weekly tutorials for theoretical units and undertake 3-4 day intensive courses each semester in practical units that make up the program. Field work is also applicable in some of the intensive practical units.

Students with the Diploma of Conservation and Land Management or Diploma of Environmental Monitoring and Technology would receive 8 units of credit in the program, meaning they could complete their degree after two years of full time study.

Please express your interest to brendanp@guc.edu.au or phone 9920 4404 and check out the link to the course through; www.guc.edu.au/courses/environmental-science/

Image credit: NACC

Temporary closure of Abraham Street

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The City of Greater Geraldton wishes to advise of the temporary closure of Abraham Street between Peter Way and Verita Road on Thursday 8 September 2016 from 9.30am to 11am.

Members of the community are requested to follow all detour signs and directions from authorised City personnel and contractors.

The City apologises for any inconvenience the temporary closure may cause.

If you have any queries please contact Jacinta Altham on 08 9956 6600 or email council@cgg.wa.gov.au.

This intersection is deadly

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To be clear, if drivers never made mistakes there'd be no accidents here.  

But they don't. Humans make mistakes. Our brains make our bodies do dumb things. Whatever. There's no point trying to make 10,000 drivers magically get better at driving. This intersection needs fixing.

I'm talking about the North West Coastal Highway and Hosken St intersection in Bluff Point.   

As I cruised North along NWCH last night, a truck next to me in the left lane turned left into Hosken. A black commodore turning right out of Hosken St decided to pull onto the NWCH despite not having superpowers that allowed them to see through trucks. 

I nearly T boned them.  

The worst thing is this isn't the first time this has happened to me there.  

I probably avoided the accident because I was wary that some idiot would pull out.

And running Everything Geraldton for the last 4 years I've reported way too many car accidents at this intersection for my liking. 

To Ian Blayney and Dean Nalder - Please get this intersection improved ASAP. 

In the mean time, if you can't see if the road is clear, for the love of God don't pull out.  

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Midwest Charity Begins at Home Inc have Four Events Coming Up

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Midwest Charity Begins at Home Inc have three events coming up to help raise money that stays here in the Midwest to help those in financial need due to serious illness.

We have helped over 163 families so far and are getting applications for assistance weekly!

FAMILY DINNER NIGHT
Saturday 10th September from 5.30pm
Spalding Park Golf Club
Cost: $35 a head for an all you can eat buffet
Drinks available at the bar, games, raffles etc... will be held
Tickets available at Mitchell and Brown
This is run by our YOUTH committee

BRIDGET JONES BABY Movie Premiere
Thursday 15th September from 5.15pm
Orana Cinemas
Cost: $30 a head with champagne and tapas, ticket, and 2 choices from the candy bar (popcorn, chocbomb or drink)
Tickets available at Mitchell and Brown and Flowvitality

2016 Mitchell and Brown Midwest Charity Begins at Home Gala Dinner
Saturday 5th November from 6pm
Moon over Marrakesh is our theme
For Sponsorship opportunities and tickets please contact us at info@charitybeginsathome.org.au

Straight Up Health Charity Fundraising Day

Refurbished Mullewa Youth Centre reopens

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Shane Love MLA for Moore and Mayor Shane Van Styn officially open the Mullewa Youth Centre.

The popular Mullewa Youth Centre has officially reopened its doors after being closed for four months to allow for an extensive refurbishment of the building and make improvements to the surrounding precinct. 

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn said the long list of much needed works wouldn’t have been possible to complete without support from Lotterywest. 

“The City’s project budget focused on the building itself and included upgrades to internal and external walls, roof and gutters and the existing toilets along with the installation of new flooring, air conditioning, kitchen cabinets, doors, windows, security screens and disabled access and an ambulant toilet,” he said.

 “Thanks to a Lotterywest grant we were also able to make much needed improvements to the grounds and facilities surrounding the Youth Centre including the installation of mini AFL goals, fencing and reticulation along with resurfacing of the basketball court, replacement of skate park shade shelters and seating, skate park upgrades and landscaping.”

According to Mayor Van Styn, the refurbishment of the highly frequented Centre was the community’s top priority. 

“Last year there were more than 7500 individual visits by young people from Mullewa as well as the surrounding areas of Yalgoo and Pia Wadjari,” he said. 

“The Centre is open 35 hours a week after school and on Saturdays but during the four school holiday periods the Centre is open 48 hours per week to provide important diversionary activities for youth. 

“Which is why the refurbishment of the Centre was identified as the number one priority for Mullewa in the 10 Year Capital Works Plan Community Panel in 2013.” 

The Centre, which is largely funded by the Department for Child Protection and Family Services, offers a variety of recreational and sporting activities and a range of programs around music, healthy cooking, basketball including the Dismantle Bike and School Holiday programs.

The $326,709 project was jointly funded with Lotterywest contributing $176,709 and the City $150,000.

Digital Retinal Photography at Specsavers

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At Specsavers, Digital Retinal Photography is free with every standard eye exam.

Digital Retinal Photography allows Specsavers optometrists to screen for abnormalities which can help with the early detection of diseases including glaucoma, macular degeneration and retinal changes that may be associated with diabetes.

Digital Retinal Photography uses sophisticated equipment to produce a high-resolution photograph of your retina, optic nerve and blood vessels. Any detected abnormalities can then be monitored and treated to better protect the quality of your sight and overall eye health. These images are stored by our optometrists to track your eye health over time. This means photos can be compared to help identify subtle changes in the eyes that could indicate serious eyes diseases.

Jacques Breytenbach, Optometrist and Store Director Specsavers Geraldton, says, “I am so pleased that we offer our customers access to the best eye care possible with the latest cutting edge technology. I believe all our customers deserve access to advanced technology without having to pay extra for it.”

Regardless of whether or not you wear glasses, Specsavers optometrists recommend that everyone, including children, have an eye test every two years.

For more information or to book an eye test online, visit www.specsavers.com.au/stores/geraldton

Specsavers - Stirlings Central Shopping Centre - Phone (08) 99647555

 

Rough medicine on the high seas

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A burial at sea. The Illustrated London News, November 1880
Courtesy State Library of Victoria

Rough Medicine: Life and Death in the Age of Sail will open at the Western Australian Museum – Geraldton on Saturday, 10 September 2016.

WA Museum CEO Alec Coles said the exhibition explores the fascinating history of how illness impacted upon and even shaped early sea voyages from the 17th Century until the advent of the steamship in the late 19th Century.

“Sickness could render a voyage anything from uncomfortable to horrific, or even fatal. Disease spread rapidly in cramped quarters, drinking water was often polluted, food perished and new climates brought new ailments from heatstroke to malaria with few escaping a visit to the ship’s surgeon,” Mr Coles said.

An eye-watering array of surgical instruments features in this absorbing and sometimes confronting exhibition. Ship surgeons carried an array of instruments including saws to amputate limbs, a procedure that only one in three people survived; a cork-screw like trephine to remove sections of skull; tooth keys to break off teeth at their roots; and it was recommended that every ship carried a jar of at least 50 leeches to bleed patients and rebalance the ‘humours’. 

Mr Coles said until ether was trialled in 1846, operations were conducted without anaesthetic and the surgeon’s most prized skill was speed. 

Rough Medicine: Life and Death in the Age of Sail explores immigrant voyages that are part of the histories of thousands of Australians.

The exhibition brings together an extraordinary collection that includes passengers’ letters and diaries, surgeons’ journals and artefacts including bone syringes used to inject mercury, surgical kits, and even jars of parasites and leeches.

South Australian Maritime Museum Senior Curator Lindl Lawton will present a free public lecture, From ‘laudable pus’ to the bloody flux…surviving the age of sail, at the WA Museum – Geraldton from 7pm – 8pm on Friday, 9 September. Those attending will have the opportunity to see a special preview of the exhibition from 6.30pm.

WA Museum – Geraldton Regional Manager Catherine Belcher said places are limited and bookings via 9431 8393 or geraldton.museum@museum.wa.gov.au are essential. 

“This unique opportunity to understand more about life at sea through the focus on ship-borne illness and medical treatments will be an excellent way to begin the exhibition’s time in Geraldton and is sure to book out,” Ms Belcher said.

Rough Medicine is developed, designed and toured by the South Australian Maritime Museum. This free travelling exhibition is supported by Visions Australia and will be on display at the WA Museum – Geraldton until 20 November 2016.

http://museum.wa.gov.au/museums/geraldton/rough-medicine

Funding for community gardens

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Nationals WA Member of Parliament and candidate for the seat of Geraldton, Paul Brown MP has welcomed the latest round of funding through the State Government’s Community Gardens Grants Program (CGGP). Funding for community gardens had been extended to 2019-20, which provides $100,000 per year for the establishment and maintenance of community gardens.

"Community gardens are often a central hub of local communities," Mr Brown said.

"They are not just for the green-fingered. They provide people of all generations an area to come together, share a cuppa and their love of the great Western Australian outdoors.

“As well as enabling people to learn about gardening, community gardens can build a greater understanding and a sense of community between neighbours, parents, young people and people from diverse backgrounds.”

Since the introduction of the grants program by the State Government in 2013, 37 projects totalling $464,853 have been funded across Western Australia.

“I am pleased the State Government has made a further commitment to fund the CGGP because community gardens foster community spirit and a sense of stewardship, particularly in regional WA,” Mr Brown said.

“I encourage our local Geraldton community gardens enthusiasts to apply.”

Brand Highway drivers targeted at litter hotspots to keep WA beautiful

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Motorists who litter along the Brand Highway are the target of a new campaign to reduce rubbish on roadsides and change long-term litter behaviour to keep the environment clean.

Nationals WA Member of Parliament and candidate for the seat of Geraldton, Paul Brown MP said the State Government had launched the Regional Roadside Litter Prevention Project along three litter hot spots – the Brand Highway, the Great Eastern Highway and the Forrest Highway.

Roadhouses on the Brand Highway that have committed to be a part of the trial are:  

  • Gingers Roadhouse Upper Swan
  • Caltex Cataby
  • Liberty Cataby
  • BP Dongara
  • Puma Tarcoola Geraldton
  • Gull 440 Geraldton

The project is supported by the Keep Australia Beautiful Council (WA) and Main Roads WA, and will run until the end of December.

The project is centred on the “WA Naturally Thanks You” message and will encourage people to do the right thing with their rubbish by promoting a sense of personal responsibility.

As part of the project, informative signage will appear on the roadside and at rest stop bins along the Brand Highway. Complimentary litter bags will also be available at these six roadhouses. The Keep Australia Beautiful Council will also survey drivers at the roadhouses on their reactions to littering.

Based on the results of this trial, the State Government will consider extending the project to other areas of high littering in Western Australia.

Key messages

  • The State Government is committed to reducing the volume and types of litter in Western Australia.
  • Western Australia needs to reduce its rate of littering to prevent harm to the environment and wildlife. Litter looks unsightly, attracts vermin and damages our waterways.
  • The $185,000 Regional Roadside Litter Prevention Project will help reduce litter where it is most prominent along three of our main highways.
  • The trial sites are along the Brand Highway, the Great Eastern Highway from Perth to Merredin, and the Forrest Highway.  
  • The four month trial is centred on the message “WA Naturally Thanks You” to encourage people to do the right thing with their rubbish by promoting a sense of personal responsibility. 
  • The trial includes roadhouses distributing litter bags to drivers. Printed on each bag is a link to a website and an educational quiz about littering issues and correct disposal of rubbish.  
  • The Keep Australia Beautiful Council will survey drivers at the participating roadhouses to get their response to the project.  
  • Based on the results of this trial, the State Government will consider extending the project to other areas of high littering in Western Australia.  
  • The State Government will introduce a container deposit scheme in 2018 to further reduce littering of drink containers in our community.

Everyone is capable of making a difference and I’m confident thanking people in advance for doing the right thing will help change the habit of roadside littering.

Along with a container deposit scheme for Western Australia in 2018, we can make a big difference

Results from the 2015–16 National Litter Index confirmed that roadsides continue to attract high volumes of litter and are the source of most of the litter found in Western Australia.

Greys Beach potentially contaminated from dumping

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Following a question at the recent council meeting regarding Geraldton's Beaches, the CGG provided this response, mentioning a potential contamination at a small section of Greys Beach: 

 "The City has received advice from the Department of Environment & Regulation (DER) that a small section at the Greys beach area has some potentially contaminated materials (due to legacy dumping of old building materials). The City is following the DER process and has commissioned a preliminary site investigation for the area, the City is currently in the middle of that process with its consultants. The process needs to meet DER requirements and the extent of any potential clean-up will be determined after those investigations have been completed in conjunction with DER."