This timeline is a selected list of events and locations of the development of the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Date | Event | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
c 46,000 BP | Evidence of human habitation in Juukan Gorge | Juukan Gorge | |
c 40,000 BP | Estimated age of Dampier Indigenous Australian rock art | Murujuga | |
1622 | East India Company ship Tryall wrecked, some survivors reach Java | Tryal Rocks | |
1628 | Dutch ship Vianen ran aground but refloated and explored coast | near Barrow Island | |
1818 | Captain Phillip Parker King surveyed the coastline, naming the Intercourse Islands and Nickol Bay | Dampier | |
1861 | Francis Thomas Gregory and his party explore the Nickol Bay area, naming Port Walcott, the Hardey River, the De Grey River and the Fortescue River | ||
April 1863 | Captain Peter Hedland discovers Mangrove Harbour (Port Hedland) | Port Hedland | |
April/May 1863 | Charles Nairn, at the behest of his brother-in-law, pastoralist and entrepreneur Walter Padbury, establishes the first sheep station in the region. | De Grey River. | |
May 1863 | Tien Tsin Harbor [ sic ] (known later as Cossack) is established | Tien Tsin Harbor [ sic ] | |
September 1863 | Sherlock Station selected by John Wellard | Sherlock Station | |
1864 | Mount Welcome Station established by the John and Emma Withnell | Mount Welcome Station | |
1864 | Cooya Pooya Station established by Thomas Lockyer[ citation needed ] | Cooya Pooya | |
1865 | Pyramid Station established by the Richardson Brothers for the Portland Squatting Company | Pyramid Station | |
1865 (November) | The first permanent government office in the region is established, headed by R. J. Sholl, Government Resident for the North District. Sholl has been relocated from the short-lived settlement at Camden Harbour [ sic ] (on the north coast of the Kimberley). | Mount Welcome/Harding River | |
1866 | On the recommendation of surveyor Charles Wedge and R.J. Sholl, the region's first townsite, named Roebourne, is gazetted, adjoining the government camp, Mt Welcome and the Harding River. | Roebourne | |
1869 | Pardoo Station established as an outstation of De Grey Station | Pardoo Station | |
1872 | Copper discovered west of Whim Creek | Whim Creek | |
1872 | Mundabullangana Station established by the MacKays | Mundabullangana | |
1872 | Chirritta Station established by the Donald Norman McLeod. | Chirritta | |
1878 | Minderoo Station established by the Forrest brothers and Septimus Burt | Minderoo | |
1878 | Yarraloola Station established by the Woolhouses | Yarraloola | |
1879 | Croydon Station established by the Robinsons | Croydon Station | |
1886 | Yarrie Station established by Christopher Coppin | Yarrie Station | |
1887 | Gold discovered at Mallina, east of Whim Creek | Mallina Station | |
1887 | First tramway opened, 2’ gauge and horse drawn, between Cossack and Roebourne | Roebourne [1] | |
1890 | Gold discovered in Coongan River bed | Marble Bar | |
1891 | Emu Creek Station established | Emu Creek Station | |
1893 | Marble Bar town site gazetted | ||
1893 | Marronah Station established by J. H. Mansfield | Maroonah | |
1894 | Cyclone kills 45 people at sea | Port Hedland | |
1896 | Townsite of Port Hedland gazetted | Port Hedland | |
1896 | Warrawagine Station established. | Warrawagine | |
1898 | Cyclone causes £30,000 worth of damage to Cossack | ||
1899 | Townsite of Nullagine gazetted | Nullagine | |
1905 | Mining starts at Wodgina mine site south of Port Hedland | ||
1906 | Alfred Canning commences surveying Canning Stock Route | ||
1909 | Townsite of Point Samson gazetted | Point Samson | |
1910 | Canning Stock route completed droving of first cattle commences | ||
July 1911 | Railway opened connecting Port Hedland with Marble Bar | Marble Bar Railway | |
1912 | Sinking of passenger steamer SS Koombana with loss of 150 lives | off Port Hedland | |
1924 | Marble Bar records world record 160 days at or above 100 °F (37.8 °C) [2] | Marble Bar | |
1931 | Indigenous girls Molly Craig, Daisy Kadibil and Gracie Fields escape Moore River Native Settlement and walk home to Jigalong along the rabbit-proof fence | Jigalong | |
1937 | Asbestos mined at Yampire Gorge, near Wittenoom | Wittenoom | |
1938 | Government surveyors, Finucane and Telford, surveyed Mount Goldsworthy and reported the iron content of the ore at 65.66% with estimated reserves of more than 6,000,000 tons | ||
1946 | The Pilbara Strike takes place | ||
1950 | Townsite of Wittenoom gazetted | Wittenoom | |
October 1952 | Operation Hurricane British nuclear test | Montebello Islands | |
November 1952 | Lang Hancock flies over the Pilbara region, discovering vast iron ore deposits | Turner River | |
1956 | Operation Mosaic British nuclear tests | Montebello Islands | |
December 1960 | Australian Government changes restrictions on iron ore exports | Australia wide | |
March 1961 | Western Australian government announces that iron ore exploration permits will be allowed | Western Australia | |
September 1962 | CRA geologists identify Mount Tom Price deposits | Mount Tom Price | |
1964 | Oil was discovered in commercial quantities by West Australian Petroleum Pty Ltd | Barrow Island | |
January 1965 | Dampier and Mount Tom Price - construction commences at locations | ||
February 1965 | Construction commences on the town of Goldsworthy | Goldsworthy | |
June 1965 | Dampier - Tom Price railway works commence | Hamersley Iron | |
1966 | Asbestos mine closed at Wittenoom Gorge | Wittenoom | |
1966 | Rio Tinto opens its first iron ore mine in the Pilbara | Mount Tom Price mine | |
July 1966 | Tom Price to Dampier - first fully loaded ore train | ||
August 1966 | Dampier - first shipment of ore loaded | ||
1967 | Iron ore discovered at Mount Whaleback | Newman | |
May 1967 | Hamersley Holdings Limited shares on the Australian Securities Exchange | ||
1968 | BHP establishes an iron ore mine near Newman | Mount Whaleback | |
1968 | Plane crash kills 26 | Indee Station, near Port Hedland | |
August 1969 | Development of community at Karratha begins | ||
July 1970 | East Intercourse Island connected by causeway | ||
1971 | Townsite of Wickham gazetted | Wickham | |
1972 | Cape Lambert port opened | Cape Lambert | |
1972 | Townsite of Newman gazetted | Newman | |
1972 | Townsite of Paraburdoo gazetted | Paraburdoo | |
1972 | Townsite of Pannawonica gazetted | Pannawonica | |
1972 | Dampier Salt commences operations | Dampier | |
1974 | North West Coastal Highway from Geraldton to Port Hedland completely sealed | ||
1975 | Veevers Meteorite Crater discovered | Great Sandy Desert | |
December 1975 | Cyclone Joan - flooding in Pilbara and damages Hamersley Rail | ||
October 1977 | Tom Price, Paraburdoo, Dampier and Karratha combined population passes 15,000 | ||
1978 | Meekatharra to Newman section of Great Northern Highway upgraded. | Great Northern Highway | |
1981 | WAPET discovers gas off the Pilbara coast with the drilling of the Gorgon 1 well | Gorgon gas project | |
1983 | Death of John Pat in police custody sparks calls for reform of police treatment of indigenous suspects | Roebourne | |
1984 | North Rankin A Gas Platform commissioned | North West Shelf | |
1984 | Pintupi Nine, last indigenous nomads without white contact, found | Lake Mackay | |
1989 | Newman to Port Hedland section of Great Northern Highway upgraded | Great Northern Highway | |
1989 | BHP opens iron ore mine near Newman | Jimblebar mine | |
January 1990 | Rio Tinto Group opens iron ore mine in Hamersley Range | Channar mine | |
1991 | Port Hedland Immigration Reception and Processing Centre opened | Port Hedland | |
1992 | Rio Tinto opens another iron ore mine in Hamersley Range | Brockman 2 mine | |
December 1993 | BHP opens another iron ore mine near Shay Gap | Yarrie mine | |
1994 | Rio Tinto opens another iron ore mine in Hamersley Range | Marandoo mine | |
1995 | Goodwyn A gas platform commissioned | North West Shelf | |
1996 | Doris Pilkington Garimara's book Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence published | Brisbane | |
2002 | Widespread flooding from Cyclone Chris | Western Pilbara | |
2003 | Riots at Port Hedland Immigration Detention Centre [3] | Port Hedland | |
2004 | Rio Tinto opens another iron ore mine in Hamersley Range | Eastern Range mine | |
2006 | Indee Gold Mine opens at Mallina, east of Whim Creek and is closed in 2008 | Mallina | |
2007 | Rio Tinto opens another iron ore mine in Hamersley Range | Hope Downs mine | |
March 2007 | Wittenoom townsite officially abolished by gazettal | Wittenoom | |
July 2007 | Hickman Meteorite Crater discovered in search of Google Earth | Ophthalmia Range | |
October 2007 | Fortescue Metals Group begins mining iron ore in the Chichester Range | Cloud Break mine | |
April 2008 | First train runs on Fortescue railway | Fortescue railway | |
June 2009 | Fortescue Metals Group opens new iron ore mine in the Chichester Range | Christmas Creek mine | |
September 2010 | Rio Tinto opens another iron ore mine in Hamersley Range | Brockman 4 mine | |
2014 | Death of Ms Dhu in police custody | South Hedland | |
2018 | Runaway ore train deliberately derailed after travelling 90 km [4] | Turner Siding | |
2020 | Ancient rock shelters in Juukan Gorge blown up by Rio Tinto | Juukan Gorge | |
2020 | Ngururrpa Indigenous Protected Area declared | Great Sandy Desert | |
Pilbara Iron is a wholly owned subsidiary of the multinational Rio Tinto Group, that manages assets for Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto, and Robe River Iron Associates, an unincorporated joint venture between Rio and three Japanese steel companies Mitsui Iron Ore Development P/L (33%), Nippon Steel Australia P/L (10.5%) and Sumitomo Metal Australia P/L (3.5%).
Karijini National Park is an Australian national park centred in the Hamersley Ranges of the Pilbara region in the northwestern section of Western Australia. The park is located north of the Tropic of Capricorn, 1,055 kilometres (656 mi) from the state's capital city, Perth. Formerly known as Hamersley Range National Park, the park was officially renamed in 1991.
Dampier is a major industrial port in the Pilbara region in the northwest of Western Australia. It is located near the city of Karratha and Port Walcott.
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.
GWR 4073 "Castle" Class No. 4079 Pendennis Castle is a 4-6-0 steam locomotive built in 1924 for the Great Western Railway (GWR) at Swindon Works to a design of Charles Collett. It was employed on long-distance express passenger trains on the GWR and its successor, British Railways' Western Region.
Tom Price is a mining town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is located inland, at the edge of the Hamersley Range. Tom Price is the highest town above sea level in Western Australia, and is consequently dubbed "Top Town in WA".
Newman, originally named Mount Newman until 1981, is a town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is located about 1,186 kilometres (737 mi) north of Perth, and 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north of the Tropic of Capricorn. It can be reached by the Great Northern Highway. Newman is a modern mining town, with homes contrasting with the surrounding reddish desert. As of the 2021 census, Newman had a population of 6,456. The Hickman Crater, a meteorite impact crater discovered in 2007, is 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Newman.
Karratha is a city in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, adjoining the port of Dampier. It is located in the traditional lands and waters of the Ngarluma people, for whom it has been Ngurra (home/Country) for tens of thousands of years. 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 Woodside-operated North West Shelf Venture located on Murujuga. 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". More recently, Ngarluma people have indicated the name may actually relate to an early interpretation of "Gardarra", stemming from the sacred site for the whale, located in the Karratha area, called "Gardarrabuga". The city is the seat of government of the City of Karratha, a local government area covering the surrounding region.
The Hamersley Range is a mountainous region of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The range was named on 12 June 1861 by explorer Francis Thomas Gregory after Edward Hamersley, a prominent promoter of his exploration expedition to the northwest.
Railways in Western Australia were developed in the 19th century both by the Government of Western Australia and a number of private companies. Today passenger rail services are controlled by the Public Transport Authority through Transperth, which operates public transport in Perth, and Transwa, which operates country passenger services. Journey Beyond operates the Indian Pacific.
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.
The Hamersley & Robe River railway, majority-owned by Rio Tinto, and operated by its subsidiary Pilbara Iron, is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia for the purpose of carrying iron ore. The network is larger than any other Australian heavy freight rail network in private ownership. The total length of its track is about 1,700 km (1,056 mi).
The Mount Newman railway, owned and operated by BHP, is a private rail network in the Pilbara region of Western Australia built to carry iron ore. It is one of two railway lines BHP operates in the Pilbara, the other being the Goldsworthy railway.
The Brockman 2 mine is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 60 kilometres north-west of Tom Price.
The Yandicoogina mine, often shortened to Yandi, is an iron ore mine located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, 95 kilometres north-west of Newman. it should not be confused with BHP Billiton's Yandi mine, which is located nearby.
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.
The heavy-haul railways in the Pilbara are a series of company-owned railways in the Pilbara region in the north-west of the state of Western Australia. Their routes total 2782 kilometres.
Hamersley News was a fortnightly English language newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia by Hamersley Iron Pty Ltd. It was distributed to mining communities in Dampier, Karratha, Tom Price and Paraburdoo.
The Yindjibarndi are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. They form the majority of Aboriginal people around Roebourne. Their traditional lands lie around the Fortescue River.