52-515: Port Hedland ( Kariyarra : Marapikurrinya ) is the second largest town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia , with an urban population of 15,298 as of the 2021 census , including the satellite town of South Hedland , 18 kilometres (11 mi) away. It is also the site of the highest tonnage port in Australia. Port Hedland has a natural deep anchorage harbour which, as well as being
104-405: A Nyamal language speaker) and makes reference to the three reliable fresh water soaks that can still be seen in and around the town, or as the town council's website says "refers to the hand like formation of the tidal creeks coming off the harbour (marra - hand, pikurri - pointing straight and nya - a place name marker)". According to Dreamtime legend, there was a huge blind water snake living in
156-461: A dialect of Martuthunira (see below). While Ngarluma and Kariyarra, as parts of a continuum, are mutually intelligible , they are considered distinct languages by their speakers, reflecting an ethnic division between the Ngarluma and Kariyarra peoples . As such they may be regarded as a single, pluricentric language . Under Carl Georg von Brandenstein 's 1967 classification scheme, Ngarluma
208-426: A modified version where teams of 10, trios, duos and lone runners pushed modified wheelbarrows containing 11 kg of iron ore over the distance. The last race was run in 2010, as the growth in mining made the route too dangerous. [REDACTED] Media related to Port Hedland, Western Australia at Wikimedia Commons Kariyarra language Ngarluma and Kariyarra are members of a dialect continuum , which
260-600: A sub-group of the Ngarluma people and lands – is controversial. There are two reasons for this: the Jaburara dialect is sometimes considered a dialect in its own right, or a dialect of Martuthunira. There is evidence for the latter theory in the word jaburara , which means "northerners" in the languages of the region: the traditional lands of the Jaburara, on and around the Burrup Peninsula , are generally to
312-439: A warm but humid sea breeze. Port Hedland is very sunny, averaging over 10 hours of sunshine per day annually and being in the sunniest region of Australia, receiving around 218.9 clear days annually. Dewpoint in the warmer months typically ranges from 19 to 22 °C (66.2 to 71.6 °F). Annual rainfall (falling almost exclusively between December and June) averages 311.5 mm (12.26 in) but because of erratic cyclones
364-498: Is 30% higher than the Western Australian average. The Blackrock Stakes was a 122 km race from Goldsworthy to Port Hedland in which competitors, either in teams or as individuals, push wheelbarrows weighed down with iron ore . It was first run in 1971, and competitors pushed a wheelbarrow full of iron ore from a remote mine site into Port Hedland. After that the race grew to raise more than $ 1 million for charity as
416-548: Is a part of the Ngayarda language group of Western Australia , in the Pama–Nyungan language family . Some sources suggest that an extinct dialect , Jaburara , was a third member of the continuum. However, it is clear that Jaburara had a distinct identity that has been partly obscured by a collapse in the numbers of Jaburara speakers during the late 19th century, and there is some evidence that Jaburara may have instead been
468-683: Is able to accommodate ships over 250,000 tonnes. In 2013, finance was being raised for yet another iron ore mine, railway and port, this time for the Roy Hill project. It requires a 344 km railway. With the neighbouring ports of Port Walcott and Dampier , Port Hedland is one of three major iron ore exporting ports in the Pilbara region. On 31 December 1968, a Vickers Viscount operated by MacRobertson Miller Airlines crashed at nearby Indee Station . The plane had flown from Perth without incident until about 10 minutes before landing at Port Hedland. The aircraft suffered catastrophic failure of
520-523: Is an historic ghost town located 1,480 km (920 mi) north of Perth and 15 km (9.3 mi) from Roebourne in the Pilbara region of Western Australia . The nearest town to Cossack, which is located on Butcher Inlet (also called Butcher's Inlet) at the mouth of the Harding River , is Wickham . The former Tien Tsin Harbour is now known as Port Walcott . Since 2021, the townsite
572-442: Is managed and operated by the Ngarluma and Yindjibarndi Foundation Ltd (NYFL). The area is an important cultural site for the Ngarluma , the traditional owners , who have inhabited the area for tens of thousands of years. The river mouth remains an important location for fishing and hunting traditional foods. There are many ancient petroglyphs in the area. Cossack is the birthplace of Western Australia's pearling industry and
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#1732780391782624-477: Is managed by the Pilbara Ports Authority, a state government instrumentality. The Port Authority's headquarters, control tower and heliport are at Mangrove Point, just to the west of The Esplanade at the western end of Port Hedland. The tugboat pen, customs office and public jetty are at nearby Laurentius Point. The harbour's wharves are located on both sides of the harbour: Finucane Island to
676-614: Is more than the mean annual rainfall. The high summer temperatures experienced in Port Hedland mean that most tourists to the area choose to visit in the cooler months between May and September. According to the Bureau of Meteorology , the Western Pilbara , including Port Hedland is the sunniest place in Australia; being the only place to record an annual average of more than 10 hours a day of sunshine. Port Hedland's harbour
728-423: Is subject to some of the largest variations in annual precipitation in the world. As an illustration, in 1942, 1,040 millimetres or 40.94 inches fell, but two years later in 1944 only 32 millimetres or 1.26 inches fell and the town went for over 300 days with no rain. The town received record daily rainfall on 27 January 1967 when a total of 387.1 millimetres or 15.24 inches of rainfall was recorded for 24 hours, which
780-413: The 1870s, a causeway was built across the tidal salt flats that separate Cossack from the main road. The causeway still forms the only access to the town from land. A horse-drawn tramway between Roebourne and Cossack was completed in 1887, the same year that the municipality of Cossack was declared, and the north-west gold rush commenced. Following the move of the pearling industry to Broome and
832-507: The De Grey River. Wedge encountered difficulties in his efforts, as he was hampered by heavy rain and the tidal creeks around Mangrove Harbour and was unable to reach the proposed port site to survey its suitability. In 1891, exploration of the area by Tom Traine, John Wedge (son of Charles Wedge) and Syd Hedley identified two landings and described the harbour as "pretty as well as safe". In September 1895, Cossack residents requested
884-693: The District Surveyor survey the headland at Port Hedland in order to establish a town and requested that the Government build a jetty. In 1896, the Port Hedland town site was surveyed by government surveyor E.W. Geyer, who named the grid of streets after the pastoral pioneers, including Richardson, Withnell, Wedge and McKay streets, and in October 1896, the town site was gazetted. By 1905, the Roads Board had made considerable improvements to
936-858: The Jaburara lands) covers the area southward from Point Samson , Cossack , Wickham , Roebourne , to the northern boundary of Millstream-Chichester National Park and; from the east side of the mouth of the Maitland River to the west side of the Peawah River near Whim Creek , including the towns of Dampier and Karratha . However, this boundary is controversial for two reasons: it includes areas also regarded as traditional country by many Martuthunira people and; for legal reasons, it does not include areas that many Ngarluma people consider to fall into their traditional country. Cossack, Western Australia Cossack , known as Bajinhurrba in Ngarluma language , and formerly known as Tien Tsin ,
988-623: The Port Hedland to Marble Bar rail service is now preserved at the Kalamunda Historical Village in the south of the state. Located between Port Hedland and South Hedland are the large salt hills of Dampier Salt , a subsidiary of Rio Tinto . These large mounds have almost become a tourist attraction in their own right. Port Hedland is known by the Indigenous Kariyarra and Nyamal people as Marapikurrinya, which either means "place of good water" (as told by
1040-619: The Weld (named after the governor) and the White Horse (opposite the wharf). Cossack contains a small cemetery comprising separate European and Japanese precincts. The pearling industry of the 19th century was notably dangerous, with many pearlers losing their lives. Those buried in the Japanese cemetery were mainly divers and others involved with the pearling industry; others, including many Aborigines, were lost at sea. The first interment in
1092-414: The beach front, was formerly a single-men's quarters for Mount Newman Mining Co. The centre was privatised by the first Howard Ministry in the late 1990s. It was closed in 2004 due to the falling number of asylum seekers arriving by boat in Australia's north-west. The town mayor called for the federal government to allow the town to use the detention centre to accommodate the many new mine workers needed for
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#17327803917821144-519: The cargo to England. Inhabitants of the town in the early twentieth century included Greeks and other Europeans, Japanese, Malays , Timorese , Koepangers and Aru Islanders . The town was abandoned in the 1950s or 1940s. The region is subject to violent storms and cyclones , and was severely damaged at different times in its history. Its use as a port for the profitable pearling industry and other economic booms saw investment and backing from Perth and it remained an important northern port. The town
1196-427: The decline of the gold rush, the population of Cossack dwindled. The harbour proved unsuitable for the larger ships of the early 20th century. Between 1902 and 1904, a jetty was constructed at the nearby hamlet of Point Samson. In 1910, the port moved there and the municipality of Cossack was dissolved. Wool bales and pearls were loaded on to a lighter for transport to ships 3 mi (4.8 km) offshore which took
1248-406: The early 1870s up to 80 luggers were operating in the area. The pearling industry also attracted a large Asian population. By 1895, there were 989 Malays and 493 Aboriginal people employed on 57 vessels at Cossack. The high number of Asians in the industry, including Japanese and Chinese as well as Malay, led to the establishment of an Asian quarter known as " Chinatown ". In 1881 a cyclone damaged
1300-478: The early 1960s and built the towns of Goldsworthy and later Shay Gap as mine sites. A rail line was then built to Port Hedland, where dredging was undertaken to deepen and widen the port's channel, and a wharf was built opposite the township of Port Hedland on Finucane Island. Shipment of ore began on 27 May 1966, when the Harvey S. Mudd sailed from Port Hedland to Japan with 24,900 tonnes of ore. In 1967, iron ore
1352-466: The fishing town of Point Samson . The townsite is not visible from the main road, and only becomes apparent as the road rounds Nanny Goat Hill. The site of the former town is defined by Nanny Goat Hill, Tien Tsin Lookout, the hilly ground to the north-east and north-west, and Butcher Inlet to the east and south-east. There are several beaches on small islands opposite Butcher Inlet. Past the townsite,
1404-651: The health impacts caused by dust levels generated by Port activities. On April 13, 2023, Cyclone Ilsa , a large and destructive category 5 tropical cyclone, made landfall just east of the port city. Port Hedland has a hot desert climate ( Köppen BWh ) although subject to the influence of tropical cyclones . Port Hedland is very warm to sweltering all year round, with mean maximum temperatures of 36.4 °C (97.5 °F) in January and 27.1 °C (80.8 °F) in July. Maximum temperatures in summer are usually moderated by
1456-537: The historic buildings, by booking through the NYFL, which manages and operates the town site. Before the town was built, the land was inhabited by the Ngarluma , an Aboriginal people . In May 1863, Walter Padbury landed his stock at the mouth of the Harding River near the present site of Cossack. Cossack was first known as Tien Tsin, after the barque that carried Padbury and his party. The ship that brought
1508-472: The landlocked area of water known as Jalkawarrinya. This landlocked area is now the turning basin for the ships that enter the port and as the story goes, "the coming of the big ships meant it was unable to stay". The coastline in the area was seen by European mariners as early as 1628, when the Dutch merchant ship Vianen , captained by Gerrit Franszoon de Witt visited. Swedish-born mariner Peter Hedland
1560-432: The main beach front. Several lookouts along the beach front path allow views of marine mammals including Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins , Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphins and Australian snubfin dolphins . The Port Hedland Saltworks Important Bird Area is a 103 km tract of originally intertidal land, now containing a saltern, about 20 km east of the port of Port Hedland. The site regularly supports over 1% of
1612-411: The main fuel and container receival point for the region, was seen as perfect for shipment of the iron ore being mined in the ranges located inland from the town. The ore is moved by railway from four major iron ore deposits to the east and south of the Port Hedland area. The port exported 519,408,000 tonnes (1.1 trillion pounds) of iron ore (2017–2018). Other major resource activities supported by
Port Hedland, Western Australia - Misplaced Pages Continue
1664-542: The master of Mystery . Ridley located a firm landing place above the mangroves, and a practicable stockroute from there to the De Grey River . In 1866, the Government Resident at Roebourne , Robert John Sholl , directed Charles Wedge to re-examine Port Hedland as an alternative port, because the distance from Tien Tsin Harbour (later known as Cossack) was discouraging settlement in areas such as
1716-582: The north of the Martuthunira lands (whereas the Jaburara are mostly west of the Ngarluma lands). A pidginized form of Ngarluma was once used as a contact language in the area. Kariyarra people, prior to European settlement occupied an area from the Yule River east to Port Hedland and south to the Hamersley Range . The official Ngarluma Native Title Determination Area (including
1768-530: The port was initially regarded as unusable, due to a sandbar that frequently sealed the entrance and thick mangroves around the shore; further, the narrow entrance made the harbour difficult to enter in bad weather. Later in 1863, government surveyor Joseph Beete Ridley examined Mangrove Harbour while exploring the country between Nicol Bay and the Fitzroy River, describing it as "an excellent anchorage and perfectly landlocked". He named it Port Hedland after
1820-527: The region around Cossack is a low, flat plain with occasional rocky hills and ranges. The vegetation is mainly grass, spinifex and low shrub, with occasional trees ( mangroves ) along watercourses and in gullies. The mangrove scrub becomes quite dense along the shoreline and at the mouth of the inlet. The main road from Roebourne to Cossack continues past the town of Wickham and the Cape Lambert iron ore port (operated by Pilbara Iron ), and terminates at
1872-580: The road winds up to the Reader Head Lookout, from which sweeping views of the surrounding coastline can be seen. The main stone buildings were constructed in the 1880s. Administrative and other public buildings built there in the 1890s continued a style adopted by the emerging state; these have been surveyed by state heritage groups and determined to be architecturally and historically significant. By about 1900 there were two hotels in Cossack:
1924-436: The roads and streets. In 1909 port facilities were built, and in 1911 a rail link to Marble Bar commenced operation. On 30 July 1942 the town was bombed by the Japanese, killing one soldier at the local airfield. By 1946, approximately 150 people lived in the area. The population of the town in 1968 was about 3,000 people. Goldsworthy Mining developed an iron ore mine approximately 100 kilometres east of Port Hedland in
1976-443: The same way; Indigenous ones were forced to build their own huts, and also had to undertake manual work at the leprosarium building paths, while non-Indigenous ones were given decent accommodation. Cossack is located on Butcher Inlet (also known as Butcher's Inlet ) at the mouth of the Harding River . It is reached by a single, sealed road that follows the original causeway across a series of tidal salt flats. The overall landform of
2028-677: The spar in the right wing. The wing suddenly separated from the fuselage. All 26 on board, including both pilots and two flight attendants, were killed. In 1991, an immigration detention facility, the Port Hedland Immigration Reception and Processing Centre, was opened to deal with the arrival of boat people seeking asylum. Port Hedland was seen as a good location, as it is in an area where many asylum seekers arriving by boat were entering Australia, and it had an international airport that would allow for easy deportations when required. The detention centre, situated on
2080-518: The state's governor, Frederick Weld , in December 1871 was named HMS Cossack , and the town adopted this name in 1872 (officially 1873 ). Cossack was the first port in the North West , and was critical to the development of the pastoral industry in the region. The harbour serving the town, formerly known as Tien Tsin Harbour, was later renamed Port Walcott . In 1866 the town of Roebourne
2132-561: The town include the offshore natural gas fields, salt, manganese, and livestock. Major deposits of lithium are being developed and exploited south of the town as well. Grazing of cattle and sheep was formerly a major revenue earner for the region, but this has slowly declined. Port Hedland was also formerly the terminus for the WAGR Marble Bar Railway , which serviced the gold mining area of Marble Bar from July 1911 until closure on 31 October 1951. The locomotive from
Port Hedland, Western Australia - Misplaced Pages Continue
2184-578: The town's mining boom. A lack of accommodation made it difficult for companies to operate efficiently, as they were unable to house staff or consultants within the town's small number of hotels. The centre is now operating as the Beachfront Village. In October 2019 the state government announced an Improvement Plan would be imposed over the West End of Port Hedland. The purpose of the plan was to prohibit all future residential development due to
2236-488: The town, and every pearling vessel then operating either foundered or was beached. In 1885, 44 vessels were operating out of Cossack. In that year a parliamentary select committee recommended the closure of several pearling banks in the area due to depletion. In 1886, the main pearling industry moved to Broome. In the 1920s there was still a Japanese shop in Cossack, run by pearling brothers Jiro and T. Muramats. During
2288-564: The west and Port Hedland to the east. Access by oceangoing vessels into and out of the harbour is via a narrow curved channel. The current control tower was opened in 2019. The area contains five primary schools (four government, one Catholic), along with Hedland Senior High School , Port Hedland School of the Air and the Cassia Education Support Centre. Port Hedland has a flatback sea turtle rookery, located on
2340-725: The world populations of red-necked stints and sharp-tailed sandpipers , as well as a population of the range-restricted dusky gerygone . Species that have strongly declined since the 1980s are broad-billed sandpipers , Asian dowitchers , curlew sandpipers , red-necked avocets , banded stilts , Oriental plovers , Oriental pratincoles and white-winged black terns . Other species present include Australian bustards , bush stone-curlews , western bowerbirds , painted finches and canary white-eyes . Estuaries such as Pretty Pool support mangroves , marine fish, and birds. Pollution from iron ore dust regularly exceeds national standards. The local hospitalisation rate for respiratory infections
2392-563: Was abandoned after the 1940s, leaving substantial stone buildings in a state of disrepair. The state government established a survey, in 2007, into the potential for restoration or revitalisation of this remote town. Cossack is now a Museum Town. In 1913 a leprosarium was established on the other side of the river (Butcher's Inlet ) known as the Lazarette, and gazetted as a quarantine reserve. It moved to Darwin in 1931 with its remaining 17 patients, with another 12 arriving in 1933. It
2444-606: Was at a time when many Aboriginal people who were thought to have leprosy or other infectious diseases were sent to lock hospitals and leprosariums. Hundreds were sent to Cossack under the Aborigines Act 1905 , under which the Chief Protector of Aborigines was able to arrest and send any Indigenous person suspected of having a range of diseases. They were often treated poorly, and they were cut off from their families. Non-Indigenous patients were not treated in
2496-483: Was classed as a "Coastal Ngayarda" (or Ngaryarta) language, but the separation of the group into "Coastal" and "Inland" groups is no longer considered valid. Apart from the division between Ngarluma and Kariyarra, there are either three or four sub-dialects within Ngarluma. However, the inclusion of Jaburara – which parallels a belief amongst Ngarluma people that the Jaburara people and their traditional land were
2548-532: Was declared, and the pearling industry began in the region. Cossack was the birthplace of Western Australia’s pearling industry and was the home of the colony’s pearling fleet until the 1880s. Many small boats off the Port Walcott coast dived for pearl shell during the 1860s using Aboriginal labour, including women and children. By early 1869, there were 14 small vessels pearling in the area, with an average crew of three Europeans and six Aboriginal people. By
2600-459: Was discovered at Mount Whaleback , and a mining venture was undertaken that included the establishment of a new town, Newman , 426 km of rail from the mine to the port and the development of processing equipment at both Newman and Port Hedland. In 1986, at a cost of $ 87 million, the existing channel was dredged to allow larger ships to enter the port. Prior to dredging, the port was only able to load vessels of less than 2,000 tonnes, but today it
2652-540: Was the first European to note the harbour's existence and the possibility of using it as a port. Peter Hedland arrived in the area in April 1863 on board his boat Mystery , which he had built himself at Point Walter on the banks of the Swan River . He named the harbour Mangrove Harbour and reported that it would make a good landing site with a well protected harbour, and that there was also fresh water available. However,
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#17327803917822704-595: Was the home of the colony's pearling fleet until the 1880s. The town was abandoned after the 1940s, leaving substantial stone buildings in a state of disrepair. Many of the buildings are listed by the National Trust , after the town was declared a museum town. Cossack is a popular tourism destination given its proximity to the ocean, freshwater, and distance from the North West Coastal Highway . Tourists are able to camp at Cossack or stay in
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