Geraldton Port - History and Handy Facts 

The Port of Geraldton has been servicing the Mid West as the major seaport of the region since 1840 when the first ship, the HMS Champion, first anchored off its coast.  In 1849, the first shipment of lead ore was exported from Champion Bay. Twenty five years later, construction began on the first government railway in the state - a 55 kilometre line to carry lead ore from Northampton to the Port.

Construction of Port facilities began in 1857 with the first town jetty extending 244 metres due north from Gregory Street.  Dramatic growth has followed consistently ever since. In 1893 a new 290 metre jetty was completed northwards from Durlacher Street and work on the present port began in 1924. A 670 metre breakwater was completed in 1926, being connected to land in the mid 1930s. Wharf construction began in 1928 and the first reinforced concrete berth in the state was officially opened in Geraldton in 1931.

Dramatic development during the 1960s and 1970s brought on line new berthing facilities in Berth 3 and a Fishing Boat Harbour was added in 1963. Construction of Berth 4 commenced in May 1964 and the first shipment of iron ore from Western Australia was loaded from Berth 4 in March 1966. In 1975 Berth 5, a 213 metre berth designed to accommodate vessels of up to 27,000 tonnes displacement was added.

The Port was administered by the Western Australian Government Railways from 1949 until 1957 and the Department of Marine and Harbours from 1957 until 1969 when control passed to the Geraldton Port Authority.

In 1974, the Port of Geraldton dispatched its first shipment of mineral sands and in 1975 its final shipment of iron ore. Talc was first exported from Geraldton in 1980 and in 1982 the Port showed its versatility when the accommodation modules for the North Rankin “A” gas field were constructed on land reclaimed during work on Berth 5.

Increased regional trade and shipping demands led to the development of Berth 6 and by 1997 Berth 3 was due for refurbishment to cater for an expansion of grain handling and shiploading facilities erected by Co-operative Bulk Handling Ltd. Refurbishments to Berths 1 and 2 in 1999 increased shipping access and visiting vessels’ facilities and services. Trade has increased by 85 per cent since 1991, mostly in grain and mineral sands.

In 2003 a $103 million Port Enhancement Project was undertaken to deepen the harbour basin and channel, as well as to upgrade three of the six berths.  As a result, ships to Handymax size can now be fully loaded at Geraldton. 

The upgrade also heralded the return of the iron ore export trade out of Geraldton. The first company to export iron ore was Mount Gibson Iron Ltd in February 2004 with approximately 38,000 thousand tonnes of ore was exported to Nanjing, China. 

In July 2004, the GPA completed a $2 million security upgrade to comply with the Australian Government's new Maritime Transport Security Act 2003 and meet international obligations.  The upgrade secured the interface between all berths and Port waters through fencing and security gates with card access.

Two new tugs were commissioned at the start of 2005 to cater for the increased size of vessels from the Port.  Each have a 50 bollard pull capacity, easily catering for the heaviest loaded Panamax vessels.