Demolition works begin at Geraldton Marine Rescue base in Point Moore as tide pushes over 4m trigger point

After 20 months, seven sandbagging campaigns and various efforts to ward off mother nature’s pulling tides, the Geraldton Marine Rescue building demolition started on Tuesday morning. An agreement made between Marine Rescue and the City of Greater Geraldton last year saw a “trigger point” set, which meant once the tide came within 4m of the building, the lease would be handed back to the city. City of Greater Geraldton mayor Jerry Clune said the call was made late last week, to engage a contractor to demolish the building which is now unsafe due to water reaching the foundation of the building. Marine Rescue comes under the control of the Department of Fire and Emergency Services. The building has been standing since 1994, with major renovations completed in 2016 which cost $880,000. Mr Clune said the building was built on top of an ablution block owned by the city, and it is “majority owned by DFES”. “We asked them six months ago for a contribution if the triggers came and so far they have been silent,” Mr Clune said. Commander of Geraldton Marine Rescue, Damien Healy said a deed was entered into between the city and DFES, but before DFES can allocate funding to help cover the cost of demolition, they need to know exactly how much it will cost. “It’ll be more of a reimbursement,” Mr Healy said. Marine Rescue will now operate out of a room leased at the Multipurpose Centre in Stow Gardens, with volunteers working from home. Mr Healy said the 60-person volunteer operation had been put through more than they bargained for. “It’s been a lot more than just Marine Rescue operations. They’ve become asset managers and done a lot more for the community,” he said.