Towns in the Pilbara

SHIRE OF ROEBOURNE

TOWN OF PORT HEDLAND

Port Hedland

Port Hedland is one of the largest ports in the world in tonnage terms, with over 70 million tonnes of product worth more than $3 billion shipped each year. It is the main receiver for containers and fuel. Ore is brought into Port Hedland by rail from Iron ore deposits inland from the town. The town also regains resource from the offshore natural gas fields, salt, manganese and livestock. The original inhabitants, the Karriyarra people, call the place Marapikurrinya for the hand shaped formation of the tidal creeks coming off the natural harbour. In 1996 Port Hedland celebrated its Centenary (1896-1996).

South Hedland

South Hedland was built due to a shortage of land in neighbouring Port Hedland above cyclonic storm surge levels adjacent to the original town site in the mid 1960s. To solve this problem a satellite town was established which is now known as South Hedland. The town serves predominantly as a residential area and a central point for many of the surrounding Aboriginal communities. Majority of the residents work at the port or in the iron ore processing industry.

SHIRE OF ASHBURTON

Tom Price

Tom Price is an attractive town in the inland Pilbara which was constructed by Hamersley Iron (now Pilbara Iron) as the base of their Pilbara iron ore mining operations.

It is the highest town in West Australia at 747 metres above sea level. It is situated at the base of Mount Nameless, at the edge of the Hamersley Ranges. The town is surrounded by some of the most spectacular scenery in WA and is the gateway to Karijini National Park.

Paraburdoo

Paraburdoo is named after the nearby 'Pirraburdoo' lease, an aboriginal name for the white "Little Corella" which lives in the area. The town, located approximately 1,500km north of Perth, has a population of around 2000 people. 

Onslow

Onslow is a coastal town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 1,386 kilometres (861 mi) north of Perth, named after the then Chief Justice of Western Australia. It currently has a population of around 573 people and is located in the Shire of Ashburton Local Government Area.

Onslow was originally founded in 1883 as a port at the mouth of the Ashburton River to service the pastoral industry of Ashburton & Yannarie River districts. This was later on abandones in 1925 and relocated on Beadon Bay where it is presently situated.

Pannawonica

The youngest town in the Shire of Ashburton, founded in 1972, built by Cleveland-Cliffs Robe River Iron. The township’s name was derived from nearby Pannawonica Hill, named by a surveyor in 1885 after the corresponding Aboriginal placename which is said to mean "the hill that came from the sea". The traditional legend is that two local Aboriginal tribes were arguing over the ownership of the hill which was located by the sea. The sea spirit decided to resolve the dispute by moving the hill inland. As the hill was dragged over the land it left a deep indentation which became the Robe River. 

SHIRE OF EAST PILBARA

The Eastern Pilbara is one of the most isolated and inhospitable regions in Australia. Temperatures in summer time hover around 40deg and the hot winds blow in off the Great Sandy Desert. It is the largest Shire in the world comprising an area of over 371,696 square kilometres (larger than the State of Victoria).

Marble Bar

The name Marble Bar was derived from a nearby jasper bar mistaken for Marble and now known as Marble Bar, which runs across the bed of the Coongan River. The town had a population of over 5,000 after gold was found nearby in 1891, but today the town has about 410 inhabitants. However, it continues to be a very productive centre, with gold, tin, silver, lead, zinc, copper and jade deposits being mined.

Newman

Newman is 1186 km north of Perth on the Great Northern Highway and 546 m above sea level. It takes its name from Mt Newman, a peak 1053 metres above sea level, which was named in 1896 after explorer Aubrey Woodward Newman. It is the largest town in the East Pilbara which was built around the massive Mt. Whaleback, the largest open cut iron ore mine in the world.

Jigalong

Jigalong is an Aboriginal community approximately 170 kilometres east of Newman and on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert in the Pilbara. The town and surrounding area is home to the Martu people, where the population fluctuates between 100 and 500 - depending on the time of the year and the activities happening in the community.

The Martu people, self-manages their community and strives to maintain their traditional values and culture. The Rabbit Proof Fence is located alongside Jigalong and the community was bought into the international spotlight with the movie - 'The Rabbit Proof Fence.'


Nullagine

Nullagine is a former goldmine town located on the Great Northern Highway. It is 1186 km north of Perth and 189km north of Newman. Nullagine is the local Aboriginal name for the river that runs through the centre of the town.

In 1902 Nullagine was the site of Australia's first discovery of diamonds. Although it once had a population of 3000 it is today a small, isolated community servicing a few locals, and the passing tourists. The main trade in Nullagine is fossickers and passing tourists. Legend has it that in Nullagine a local stubbed his toe on a 20 ounce nugget of gold when walking down the main street.