The Pilbara region, covers an area of 507,896 square kilometres, stretching from the coast to the WA/NT border.
It contains some of Earth’s oldest rock formations, and consists of three distinct geographic areas. The western third is the Roebourne coastal sandplain, which supports most of the region’s population in towns and much of its industry and commerce. The eastern third is almost entirely desert and is sparsely populated by a small number of Aboriginal peoples.
These are separated by the inland uplands of the Pilbara Craton, including the predominant Hamersley Range which have some spectacular gorges and other natural attractions.
The Pilbara called Bilybarra by many different Indigenous groups of the region means “dry country”.
In the Pilbara region, before the arrival of European settlers, there were at least 28 languages spoken.
The lands for which the City of Karratha is responsible have been occupied by the ancestors of the Ngarluma, Yindjibarndi, Martuthunira and Yaburara peoples for more than 40,000 years.
Kariyarra is the language that was (and is still) spoken in the Port Hedland region and the languages Ngarla and Nyamal are spoken just north and south of the area.
The first European visitor to these shores was the English buccaneer William Dampier, who came aboard the Cygnet in 1688.
In 1818, Captain Phillip Parker King arrived in the Dampier Archipelago on the Mermaid and named the Intercourse Islands, Lewis and Enderby Islands and Nickol Bay.
Francis Thomas Gregory arrived at Nickol Bay in 1861 on the Dolphin, naming Hearson Cove, the Maitland and Fortescue rivers, the Hamersley Ranges, Mt Samson and Mt Bruce.
The first white settler to the region was Walter Padbury, who, inspired by reports from the Gregory expedition, decided to start a sheep station on the “uninhabited” north-west coast. His party landed at Tien Tsin, later to be called Cossack, in 1863. Later that same year John Wellard followed this example and the managers of these parties, Charles Nairn and William Shakespeare Hall, are remembered as the pioneers of the north west.
John and Emma Withnell arrived in April 1864, travelled overland up the Harding River until they arrived at Yeera-Muk-A-Doo Pool and camped at the base of a hill, which Emma named Mount Welcome.
More settlers, some associated with the Denison Plains Association, the Portland Squatting Company and the Camden Harbour Pastoral Association, arrived, and in 1865 Government officials from the failed Camden Harbour settlement, including Resident Magistrate R.J Sholl, received orders to transfer the Government establishment to Tien Tsin.
Sholl recommended Tien Tsin as a port and chose a town site at Mount Welcome, the place taken up by the Withnells. Roebourne was named after the Surveyor General J.S. Roe, and was proclaimed a township 17 August 1866.
The District of Nickol Bay, defined as “All that portion North of a due East and West line from the mouth of the Murchison River” was gazetted in 1871.
After Governor Weld’s visit in 1871-1872, Tien Tsin was re-named Cossack, after the name of the vessel the governor travelled on.
The Roads District of Nickol Bay was abolished in 1887 and the Roebourne Roads Board District was gazetted. The towns of Roebourne and Cossack were proclaimed as municipalities. Over time, the area of the Roebourne Roads Board was reduced to form various other road districts, including Ashburton, Tableland and Port Hedland.
Roebourne Municipal Council was dissolved in 1906 and included in the Roebourne Roads Board. In 1910 the Town of Cossack was abolished.
East, West and Central wards were gazetted in 1914. In 1916 the number of members for each ward was allocated.
The Roebourne Roads Board became the Shire of Roebourne in 1961 and in 1971 the area of the shire was reduced to 5900 square miles, including Roebourne, Cossack, Whim Creek, Point Samson, Wickham, Karratha and Dampier, and the stations Karratha, Mardie, Mt Welcome, Woodbrook, Warambie, Pyramid, Sherlock, Mallina and Cooya Pooya.
With the beginning of the iron ore industry in the early 1960s, Dampier was chosen as the Port for Hamersley Iron’s operations. This signalled the beginning of major development in the shire. With the introduction of jet aircraft, regular passenger flights to the unsealed Roebourne airport were discontinued. In 1966 Hamersley Iron constructed a sealed airport, then the Dampier Airport.
Planning for the construction of Karratha began in 1968 and land was excised from the Karratha Station pastoral lease. Wickham’s first permanent buildings were begun in 1970 and from this time the Shire of Roebourne was faced with increasing responsibilities.
On 1 July 2014, the Shire of Roebourne became the City of Karratha.
