Geraldton sights

As we settle in more we go looking at various sites around town.  St Francis Xavier Cathedral is probably the foremost attraction in the town.  It is not currently open to the public due to the
Covid-19 restrictions.  It architect was John Hawes who was an architect before he took up the priesthood.  Construction began in 1916 and was completed in 1926.

View from the front.

.

The Right Reverend Monsignor John Hawes was an architect and a priest.  He was known for designing and constructing church buildings in England, Western Australia and the Bahamas.  He served as a priest in the Church of England before converting to Roman Catholicism and being ordained as a priest.   After he retired he lived as a hermit in the Bahamas.

The Memorial of National Significance in Geraldton commemorates the tragic loss of the HMAS Sydney II in 1941.  The loss of the 645 crew members of the ship sunk by the German cruiser Kormoran remains the greatest single tragedy in Australian naval history. The memorial dome comprises 645 gulls.

The Pool of Remembrance.

The Stele which is based on the concept of ancient standing stones found throughout the world were used as markers of graves since time immemorial.  It is here also expressed in the form of the prow of the HMAS Sydney II.  Front and to the side is the bronze sculpture of the Waiting Woman" grieving for lost father, husband, brother or son.

Queens Park Theatre in town.  Closed of course.

Active red and white candy striped Point Moore Lightouse stands 34 m high.  The first all steel tower built on the mainland of Australia in 1878.  It is the oldest surviving Western Australian lighthouse under Commonwealth control.