Dampier Western Australia | |||||||||
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Coordinates | 20°40′S116°43′E / 20.66°S 116.71°E | ||||||||
Population | 1,282 (SAL 2021) [1] [2] | ||||||||
Established | 1965 | ||||||||
Postcode(s) | 6713 | ||||||||
Elevation | 0 m (0 ft) | ||||||||
Area | 10.5 km2 (4.1 sq mi) | ||||||||
Location | |||||||||
LGA(s) | City of Karratha | ||||||||
State electorate(s) | North West | ||||||||
Federal division(s) | Durack | ||||||||
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Dampier is a major industrial port in the Pilbara region in the northwest of Western Australia. [3] It is located near the city of Karratha and Port Walcott. [4]
Dampier Port is part of the Dampier Archipelago and is primarily a port for the export of iron ore from Rio Tinto mines, LNG and salt. The port services petrochemical, salt, iron ore and natural gas export industries. Rio Tinto exports large volumes of iron ore, especially Pilbara blend through the port, and in September 2010 announced plans to expand capacity. [5] [6] At the 2011 census, Dampier had a population of 1,341. [7]
The Yaburrara Aboriginal tribe lived in the area for many thousands of years. [8]
The town derives its name from its location on Dampier Island 3 km off the Pilbara Coast and part of the Dampier Archipelago, both named after the English navigator William Dampier. In 1963, the island became an artificial peninsula when it was connected to the mainland by a causeway for a road and railway. In 1979, Dampier Peninsular was renamed after Mt Burrup, the highest peak on the island, which had been named after Henry Burrup, a Union Bank clerk murdered in 1885 at Roebourne. [9] [10] [11]
In 1699, Dampier, in command of the 26-gun warship HMS Roebuck on a mission to explore the coast of New Holland, following the Dutch route to the Indies, passed between Dirk Hartog Island and the Western Australian mainland into what he called Shark Bay. He then followed the coast northeast, on 21 August 1699, reaching the Dampier Archipelago, which he explored, naming Rosemary Island. He continued to Lagrange Bay, just south of what is now Roebuck Bay, before sailing for Timor. [12]
The town was built from 1965 onwards, to serve the railway transporting iron ore from Tom Price and Paraburdoo. By 1968, the further expansion of Dampier had been constrained by geographical factors, and a new town of Karratha was established on the mainland as a result. [13]
The Burrup Peninsula, or Murujuga, which means "Hip Bone Sticking Out" in the Yaburrara language, is home to what is believed to be the largest collection of petroglyphs (ancient rock art) in the world. [8]
There are 42 other islands in the Dampier Archipelago. [14] There is a hugely diverse marine ecosystem around the islands, including whales, dugongs, turtles, coral, and sponges. Green turtles, (Chelonia mydas) are known to nest in the Dampier Archipelago. [15] [16]
Under the Köppen climate classification, Dampier has a desert climate (BWh). [17] The annual average rainfall is 272.2 millimetres (10.7 in), which would make it a semi-arid climate, except, like Alice Springs, its high evapotranspiration (or its aridity) makes it a desert climate. Dampier has extremely hot and humid summers with dewpoints exceeding 24 °C (75 °F). Having over 3,700 hours of annual sunshine, it is one of the sunniest places in Australia and the world; its sunshine hours approach those of Aswan in Egypt.
Climate data for Dampier Salt | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 46.4 (115.5) | 47.1 (116.8) | 45.7 (114.3) | 42.2 (108.0) | 39.5 (103.1) | 32.5 (90.5) | 33.0 (91.4) | 37.3 (99.1) | 38.7 (101.7) | 43.2 (109.8) | 45.5 (113.9) | 46.5 (115.7) | 47.1 (116.8) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 35.9 (96.6) | 36.0 (96.8) | 36.2 (97.2) | 34.4 (93.9) | 29.9 (85.8) | 26.6 (79.9) | 26.2 (79.2) | 27.7 (81.9) | 30.5 (86.9) | 32.7 (90.9) | 34.3 (93.7) | 35.7 (96.3) | 32.2 (90.0) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 26.1 (79.0) | 26.5 (79.7) | 25.5 (77.9) | 22.8 (73.0) | 18.2 (64.8) | 15.1 (59.2) | 13.4 (56.1) | 14.6 (58.3) | 16.8 (62.2) | 19.7 (67.5) | 22.2 (72.0) | 24.6 (76.3) | 20.5 (68.9) |
Record low °C (°F) | 17.5 (63.5) | 20.1 (68.2) | 20.0 (68.0) | 15.8 (60.4) | 10.4 (50.7) | 5.2 (41.4) | 4.6 (40.3) | 6.4 (43.5) | 8.6 (47.5) | 9.0 (48.2) | 11.4 (52.5) | 15.9 (60.6) | 4.6 (40.3) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 36.3 (1.43) | 71.4 (2.81) | 46.7 (1.84) | 18.9 (0.74) | 31.0 (1.22) | 36.1 (1.42) | 11.7 (0.46) | 4.4 (0.17) | 1.5 (0.06) | 0.8 (0.03) | 1.4 (0.06) | 13.4 (0.53) | 272.8 (10.74) |
Average precipitation days | 4.1 | 5.5 | 4.2 | 1.9 | 3.4 | 3.5 | 2.2 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 28.6 |
Average afternoon relative humidity (%) | 50 | 51 | 44 | 37 | 38 | 40 | 35 | 35 | 32 | 37 | 41 | 45 | 40 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 325.5 | 292.9 | 303.8 | 288.0 | 269.7 | 258.0 | 282.1 | 316.2 | 324.0 | 356.5 | 354.0 | 356.5 | 3,727.2 |
Source: [18] |
At the entrance to the town is a statue of "Red Dog", a red kelpie/cattledog well known for roaming the area in the 1970s and hitching rides to nearby towns. The statue reads "Erected by the many friends made during his travels". [19] Other attractions include the fishing not far off the coast, the most commonly targeted species being barramundi (Lates calcarifer).
The port of Dampier was opened in 1966, when the first iron ore from the Mount Tom Price mine was transported via the Hamersley & Robe River railway to Parker Point and loaded on ships. The port at East Intercourse Island opened in 1972. [20]
The port has an annual loading capacity of 140 million tonnes of iron ore. Rio Tinto's other iron ore port, Cape Lambert, can handle 80 million tonnes per year. It takes from 24 to 36 hours to load a ship at port. [20] With the neighbouring ports of Port Hedland and Port Walcott, Dampier is one of three major iron ore exporting ports in the Pilbara region [21] The closest airport to the port is Karratha, located less than 20 kilometres away. [22]
The Pilbara is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a global biodiversity hotspot for subterranean fauna.
Port Hedland 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.
Karratha is a city in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, adjoining the port of Dampier. It was established in 1968 to accommodate the processing and exportation workforce of the Hamersley Iron mining company and, in the 1980s, the petroleum and liquefied natural gas operations of the North West Shelf Venture. As of the 2021 census, Karratha had an urban population of 17,013. The city's name comes from the cattle station of the same name, which derives from a word in a local Aboriginal language meaning "good country" or "soft earth". The city is the seat of government of the City of Karratha, a local government area covering the surrounding region.
The Dampier Archipelago is a group of 42 islands near the town of Dampier in Pilbara, Western Australia.
Murujuga, formerly known as Dampier Island and today usually known as the Burrup Peninsula, is an area in the Dampier Archipelago, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, containing the town of Dampier. The Dampier Rock Art Precinct, which covers the entire archipelago, is the subject of ongoing political debate due to historical and proposed industrial development. Over 40% of Murujuga lies within Murujuga National Park, which contains within it the world's largest collection of ancient 40,000 year old rock art (petroglyphs).
Karratha Airport is an airport in Karratha, in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The airport is 14 km (8.7 mi) from Karratha and 5 nautical miles south of Dampier.
Pilbara newspapers is a selection of newspapers published in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Dampier Highway, formerly known as Karratha-Dampier Road, is a Western Australian highway linking Dampier on the state's north-western coast with the nearby regional centre of Karratha. The 19.3 kilometres (12 mi) long highway is also the primary thoroughfare for both communities to access the Karratha Airport, as well as industrial facilities including the Pluto LNG project and Murujuga National Park located on the Burrup Peninsula.
Robin Howard Chapple is an Australian politician.
Cape Lambert is a port facility operated by Rio Tinto Iron Ore in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is located 40 kilometres north-east of Karratha.
The Mount Whaleback mine, officially the Newman West operation, is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, six kilometres west of Newman.
Iron ore mining in Western Australia, in the 2018–19 financial year, accounted for 54 percent of the total value of the state's resource production, with a value of A$78.2 billion. The overall value of the minerals and petroleum industry in Western Australia was A$145 billion in 2018–19, a 26 percent increase on the previous financial year.
Dolphin Island is an island situated in the Dampier Archipelago in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Visitors are able to camp within 100 metres (328 ft) of the high water mark on all of the beaches on the island except for the south eastern side.
Port Hedland is one of the largest iron ore loading ports in the world and the largest in Australia. In 2022, it had the largest bulk cargo throughput in Australia. With the neighboring ports of Port Walcott and Dampier, Port Hedland is one of three major iron ore exporting ports in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Port Walcott, formerly known as Tien Tsin Harbour, is a large open water harbour located on the northwest coast of Western Australia, located near the town of Point Samson.
The Railways in the Pilbara are a collection of railways in the Pilbara region of north-west Western Australia.
Main Roads Western Australia controls the major roads in the state's Pilbara region. There are two main highways in the region: Great Northern Highway, which travels north through the region to Port Hedland and then north-west along the coast, as well as North West Coastal Highway, which heads south-west from Port Hedland. A series of main roads connects towns to the highways, and local roads provide additional links. The majority of these roads service the western half of the region, with few located in the various deserts east of the Oakover River. Roads are often named after the towns or areas they connect.
The Pilbara Coast is the coastline of Western Australia's Pilbara region. It is often referred to as the North West Coast of Western Australia.
East Intercourse Island is an uninhabited island in the Dampier Archipelago, in the Pilbara, Western Australia. It is around 250 hectares in size.
Severe Tropical Cyclone Veronica was a large and powerful tropical cyclone which brought major impacts to the Pilbara region of Western Australia during March 2019. The nineteenth tropical low, eighth tropical cyclone and fifth severe tropical cyclone on the 2018–19 Australian region cyclone season, Veronica first appeared as a tropical low near East Timor on 18 March 2019. The system was slow to develop initially while tracking southwestwards through the Timor Sea, but began to consolidate the following day. The storm was upgraded by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) to a Category 1 tropical cyclone on the Australian scale at 18:00 UTC on 19 March, by which time a steady development trend had begun. Upon attaining Category 2 status at 06:00 UTC on 20 March, Veronica underwent a period of explosive intensification. The system became a severe tropical cyclone six hours later, and Category 4 just six hours after that. Veronica reached peak intensity at 06:00 UTC the following day as a high-end Category 4 severe tropical cyclone, with ten-minute sustained winds estimated at 195 km/h (120 mph), and a central barometric pressure of 938 hPa. The United States' Joint Typhoon Warning Center estimated that the system was generating one-minute sustained winds of 230 km/h (145 mph), equivalent to a mid-range Category 4 major hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane wind scale. Veronica proceeded to weaken very gradually over the following few days as it turned towards Western Australia's Pilbara coastline. The system weakened to Category 3 while located just off the Pilbara coast, where it became almost stationary for 24 hours. Veronica began to weaken more quickly as it accelerated westwards on 25 March, tracking parallel to the coast. The system was downgraded below tropical cyclone intensity on 26 March, and after making landfall on North West Cape later that day, the system began to track away from the Australian mainland. Ex-Tropical Cyclone Veronica dissipated on 31 March over the eastern Indian Ocean.
Media related to Dampier, Western Australia at Wikimedia Commons