Geraldton Marine Rescue base at Point Moore was just 4m from ocean before community efforts bought more time

Marine Rescue Geraldton’s base at Point Moore continues to hover precariously close to danger, with community helping hands buying it more time this week amid poor weather. Marine Rescue Commander Damien Healy said the corner of the base was 4½ metres from the ocean on Wednesday, but thanks to a local construction company volunteering its time, fuel and machinery, it was now 10m from the water. The extra time will help rescue crews move their assets to other facilities as the ocean inches closer to the building, compromising its structural integrity. Red Dust Holdings helped put mesh and sand in front of the base. “If the work hadn’t been done, 100 per cent the erosion would’ve been at the foot of the base,” Mr Healy said. “ We got excavators and loaders in and worked for 4½ hours.” In the next week, the crew will begin moving the contents of the building into temporary storage, while they occupy a facility at the multipurpose centre on the Geraldton foreshore. The base’s radio pole has already been moved. “It would’ve already fallen in the water if we had left it,” Mr Healy said. The building is still safe to inhabit, but Mr Healy said the team were preparing for the worst-case scenario, which had become realistic become of Thursday afternoon’s high tide and large swells. “We’ve gotten through this swell event and high tide, but whether or not we’ll get through it in the future, I’m not sure,” he said. “We just have to plan for the worst and hope we can move everything back in.” The best-case scenario involves the structure making it through winter unscathed, in which case the crew will be able to return to the building in summer when the beach returns to its usual size. Red Dust Holdings general manager Josh Johnston said he didn’t realise the urgency of the work when he reached out to help. “It held up good, which I’m surprised . . . if we didn’t do what we did, the water would have eroded to the building,” he said. Mr Johnston said Red Dust Holdings would continue to help with temporary work where it could, but the Department of Fire and Emergency Services and the City of Greater Geraldton could be doing more to find a permanent fix. “With the volunteer stuff, it’s all manual labour,” he said. “What we did in two days would have taken them three months. “We came in with some large equipment and knocked it out but it’s still not a permanent fix. It’s just buying time.”