Skeletons in geraldton’s history closet

Think Geraldton’s closet is free from skeletons? A history-infused ghost tour coming to Geraldton later this year will shine a light on the secrets of the Mid West City.

The project ran with success in Kalgoorlie-Boulder last year, with Goldfields-Esperance creative Sarah-Jayne Eeles later awarded a Regional Arts Fund grant to bring the historical tours to Geraldton.

Walking past historical buildings and sites, listeners will hear stories of strange happenings and the moments in history which coincided with them.

Paid positions will also be available for local performers who are keen to take on the role of historical figures and not-quite-human characters.

Ms Eeles was in town last week to start mapping routes and conduct research, saying tour guests would be surprised to learn of the startling tales lurking in Geraldton’s past.

“I am hearing some very interesting things about the Geraldton Hotel and tunnels ... and a few people have started telling me about their spooky supernatural encounters,” she said.

“Some of the trove articles have shown there was a fight and a death that occurred at one of the old jetties at some time ... so we will be having an actor tell that story in the first person.

“Then we will actually share some of the history of that story, which means people actually get to learn about the jetty and how important it was at that time.”

The project will run in partnership with local outfit Euphorium, with the tours to run in November.