Tag: Point Moore

Historical Snippets, WA History

How the Lighthouse Got its Stripes

Jessica Barratt

The ‘Zephyr’ returned to Champion Bay in November 1870. They arrived in the evening, and without any light to guide their way, Captain Setten had to go through the “most anxious ordeal of heaving-to his ship till daylight…” On top of that, he dealt with a heavy southwest gale. He was one of many who pressed upon the need for a lighthouse at Point Moore.

Six years later, works were underway and halted in January 1877 until the arrival of the prefabricated iron tower from England. In June, the ‘Lady Louisa’ arrived at Champion Bay with all the materials on board. Men unloaded them from the ship and began construction. By mid-July, works halted again. An error was made during the construction of the lighthouse’s foundation and needed immediate rectification.

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Historical Snippets

A Seaside Holiday in Geraldton

Jessica Barratt

In April 1933, Leonard Hood, secretary of the Parents’ and Citizens’ Association at Meekatharra, wrote to the Geraldton Municipal Council expressing a desire to arrange a summer seaside holiday for the Meekatharra children.

Throughout the year, plans were made, and the Association held fundraising events. Finally, on the night of 27 December 1933, 74 children and nine adult supervisors boarded the train at Meekatharra bound for Geraldton. One newspaper described the scene at the railway station:

Long before the arrival of the express from Wiluna, the platform was thronged with happy and eager children. Two coaches were necessary to accommodate the party and in a surprisingly short time all had been billeted in their compartments. A loud din reigned as the train slowly drew out, the air being filled with the voices of cheering children and blasts from the whistle of the engine.

The Magnet Mirror and Murchison Reflector (Meekatharra, WA : 1928 – 1935); 5 January 1934; Page 3; Children’s Seaside Trip
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