City Of Greater Geraldton

The City is administrative organisation for the district centred on Geraldton in Western Australia. The organisation is a result of two local government reform initiatives including the merger of the City of Geraldton and the Shire of Greenough in 2007 and then the merger of the City of Geraldton-Greenough and the Shire of Mullewa on the 1st July 2011. Greater Geraldton is a rapidly growing community of approximately 40,000 people and is recognised as the regional capital of the Mid West and Australia's Coral Coast tourism region. The region is famous for its pristine coastline and easy access to the iconic Abrolhos Islands. Geraldton has a long history dating back over 40,000 years with continuous settlement by the Yamatji who are the traditional custodians of the country. It also celebrates some of the earliest European contact with the first recording European structure, being the Wiebbe Hayes fort constructed on the Abrolhos Islands following the legendary tale of the wreck of the Batavia in 1629. The City governance and legislative structure is based on 14 elected Councillors and a popularly elected Mayor. The currently Mayor is Ian Carpenter who was elected at the inaugural elections on the 15th October 2011. The City takes pride in it innovation and priority in seeking to be a leader in inspiring and facilitating the development of a creative community and in being a strong and financially sustainable local government.