Geraldton Back Beach (WA 1081) is the site of the Geraldton Surf Life Saving Club and is patrolled on summer weekends. The beach begins at the Southgate Dunes and runs northwest as Tarcoola Beach for 4 km, before it swings round to face south by Separation Point, with the last 2 km called Back Beach.
This can be a very hazardous beach as it's exposed to southerly ocean swells with waves averaging over 1 m, and occasionally reaching 2 to 3 m on the more open Tarcoola section where they maintain a continuous bar cut by rips every few hundred meters. The southern and Back beaches sections are a little more protected with a usually continuous bar free of rips with two small patches of reefs also along Back Beach.
The Club was founded in 1930, following the development of a swimming club in 1918 and Swimming and Surf Life Saving Club in 1926. The original clubhouse was lost to beach erosion and demolished in 1967. The present club sits in a large foreshore reserve on Mahomets Flats between Tarcoola and Back beaches.
The Brand Highway parallels the beach 400 m inland, with several access points and car parks along Glendenning and Willcock drives which back the reserve.
Beach Length: 0.006km
General Hazard Rating:
6/10
Patrols
There are currently no services provided by Surf Life Saving Australia for this beach. Please take the time to browse the Surf Safety section of this website to learn more about staying safe when swimming at Australian beaches.
Click here to visit general surf education information.
SLSA provides this information as a guide only. Surf conditions are variable and therefore this information should not be relied upon as a substitute for observation of local conditions and an understanding of your abilities in the surf. SLSA reminds you to always swim between the red and yellow flags and never swim at unpatrolled beaches. SLSA takes all care and responsibility for any translation but it cannot guarantee that all translations will be accurate.