Geraldton Road District

The Geraldton Road District was an early form of local government area in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It was based in the town of Geraldton, although Geraldton was not part of the road district, having been separately incorporated as the Municipality of Geraldton.[1][2]

It was established on 24 January 1871.[1] It met at the Geraldton Town Hall in its early years, later switching to the office of the road board secretary.[3][4][5][6]

A section of the district separated to form the Murchison Road District on 3 August 1875 and another section separated to form the Mullewa Road District on 11 August 1911.[1]

Prominent pastoralist Walter Vernon from Sandsprings Homestead was a long-serving member of the Geraldton Road Board, being first elected to the board in 1910 and serving as its chairman from 1913 to 1944.[7]

The Geraldton Road District ceased to exist on 21 December 1951, when it amalgamated with the Greenough Road District to form the Geraldton-Greenough Road District.[1] A small section of the former road district was added to the Municipality of Geraldton in light of the town having expanded.[1][8] The amalgamation was largely amicable, with an attempt by the Geraldton board to retain their name for the merged entity being one of the few brief issues of contention.[9]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Municipality Boundary Amendments Register" (PDF). Western Australian Electoral Distribution Commission. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  2. ^ "Geraldton Roads Board". Geraldton Express. Western Australia. 22 April 1912. p. 4. Retrieved 19 January 2020 – via Trove.
  3. ^ "GERALDTON ROADS BOARD". Geraldton Observer. Western Australia. 4 January 1881. p. 3. Retrieved 10 February 2020 – via Trove.
  4. ^ "Classified Advertising". The Perth Gazette and West Australian Times. Western Australia. 21 November 1873. p. 2. Retrieved 10 February 2020 – via Trove.
  5. ^ "GERALDTON ROAD BOARD". Geraldton Guardian. Western Australia. 2 December 1920. p. 4. Retrieved 10 February 2020 – via Trove.
  6. ^ "Advertising". Geraldton Guardian. Western Australia. 15 March 1928. p. 3. Retrieved 10 February 2020 – via Trove.
  7. ^ "Sandsprings Homestead Group". State Register of Historic Places. Heritage Council of Western Australia. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
  8. ^ "Boundaries Question". Geraldton Guardian. Western Australia. 5 July 1951. p. 6. Retrieved 10 February 2020 – via Trove.
  9. ^ "BOUNDARY READJUSTMENTS". Geraldton Guardian. Western Australia. 29 November 1951. p. 4. Retrieved 10 February 2020 – via Trove.