The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its geography, its red earth, and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a global biodiversity hotspot for subterranean fauna.
Definitions of the Pilbara region
At least two important but differing definitions of "the Pilbara" region exist. Administratively it is one of the nine regions of Western Australia defined by the Regional Development Commissions Act 1993; the term also refers to the Pilbara shrublands bioregion (which differs in extent) under the Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA).
IBRA regions and subregions: IBRA7IBRA region / subregionIBRA codeAreaStates Location in AustraliaPilbara shrublands PIL WA ChichesterPIL01 FortescuePIL02 HamersleyPIL03 RoebournePIL04
Geography
The Pilbara region, as defined by the Regional Development Commissions Act 1993 and administered for economic development purposes by the Pilbara Development Commission, has an estimated population of 61,688 , and covers an area of . It contains some of Earth's oldest rock formations, and includes landscapes of coastal plains and mountain ranges with cliffs and gorges. The major settlements of the region are Port Hedland, Karratha and Newman. The three main ports in this region are Port Hedland, Dampier and Port Walcott.
Under the Regional Development Commissions Act, Pilbara is situated south of the Kimberley, and comprises the local government areas of Shire of Ashburton, Shire of East Pilbara, City of Karratha, and Town of Port Hedland.
The Pilbara region covers an area of 507,896 km2 (193,826 mi2) (including offshore islands), roughly the combined land area of the US States of California and Indiana. It has a population of more than 45,000, most of whom live in the western third of the region, in towns such as Port Hedland, Karratha, Wickham, Newman and Marble Bar. A substantial number of people also work in the region on a fly-in/fly-out basis. There are approximately 10 major/medium population centres and more than 25 smaller ones.
The Pilbara 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 people. The two areas are separated by the inland uplands of the Pilbara Craton, including the predominant Hamersley Range, which has numerous mining towns, the Chichester Range, and others. The uplands have many gorges and other natural attractions.
The Pilbara contains some of the world's oldest surface rocks, including the ancient fossilised remains known as stromatolites and rocks such as granites that are more than three billion years old. In 2007, some of the oldest evidence of life on Earth was found in 3.4-billion-year-old sandstones at Strelley Pool, which preserve fossils of sulphur-processing bacteria. The mineralised spheres, which were found on an ancient beach and have a cell-like morphology, were chemically analysed, revealing that they used sulphur for fuel.
An extinct genus of stromatolite-forming cyanobacteria, Pilbaria, was named after the region, where the type specimen was found.
Urban centres and localities Rank LGA Population 2016 census 2021 census 1 Karratha Karratha10,730 11,728 16,475 15,828 17,013 2 Port Hedland Port Hedland12,695 11,557 13,772 13,828 15,298 3 Newman East Pilbara3,516 4,245 5,478 4,567 4,239 4 Tom Price Ashburton3,095 2,721 3,134 2,956 2,874 5 Wickham Karratha1,724 1,825 1,651 1,572 2,016 6 Paraburdoo Ashburton1,202 1,607 1,509 1,359 1,319 7 Dampier Karratha 1,469 1,370 1,341 1,104 1,282 8 Onslow Ashburton802 576 667 848 813 9 Roebourne Karratha950 857 813 627 700 10 Pannawonica Ashburton618 686 651 695 685 11 Jigalong East Pilbara300 273 357 333 289 12 Point Samson Karratha322 274 298 211 235 13 Kiwirrkurra East Pilbara 216 165 180 14 Marble Bar East Pilbara234 194 208 174 153 15 Nullagine East Pilbara 178 194 147
Local government The Pilbara region, under the Pilbara Development Commission, contains four local government areas:
AshburtonShire of Ashburton East PilbaraShire of East Pilbara KarrathaCity of Karratha Port HedlandTown of Port Hedland
Etymology According to the Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre Wangka Maya, the name for the Pilbara region derives from the Aboriginal word bilybara, meaning "dry" in the Nyamal and Banyjima languages. Another suggested origin is pilbarra, an Aboriginal word for the salt-water mullet found in local waters, reflected in the name of a tributary of the Yule River, Pilbarra Creek, which evolved to "Pilbara" Creek. The Pilbara Goldfield, discovered in 1885, was named after the creek, and the name later became associated with the region.
History
The first European to explore the area was Francis Thomas Gregory in 1861. Within two years, European settlers had begun arriving. The region was regarded as part of the North West at first – a larger area that included the modern Kimberley and Gascoyne regions.
Settlements along the coast at Tien Tsin Harbour (later Cossack), Roebourne and Condon (officially Shellborough; later abandoned) were established over ensuing decades, mainly as centres of the rangeland livestock (grazing/pastoral) industry or pearling ports. However, as natural mother of pearl beds around Cossack were fished out, the pearling fleet began to move northward, and by 1883 it was based at Broome, in the Kimberley region. From , pastoralism went into decline with the growth of other, more productive agricultural areas of the state.
Mining in the region started on 1 October 1888, when the Pilbara Goldfield was officially declared – named after a local creek, the goldfield would later give its name to the region as a whole. It was later divided into the Nullagine Goldfield and Marble Bar Goldfield. However, gold mining began to decline in the Pilbara in the mid-1890s, after alluvial ore had been exhausted. In 1937, mining of asbestos commenced at Wittenoom Gorge. While the presence of abundant iron ore had been known for about a century, it was not until the 1960s and the discovery of high-grade ore in the Hamersley Ranges that the area became pivotal to the state's economy, and towns built to accommodate mining and allied services boomed.
In the 1950s, three British nuclear weapons tests were carried out in the Montebello Islands, 130 km (81 mi) off the Pilbara coast.
Aboriginal people
Prehistory The Aboriginal population of the Pilbara considerably predates, by 30,000 to 40,000 years, the European colonisation of the region. Archaeological evidence indicates that people were living in the Pilbara even during the harsh climatic conditions of the Last Glacial Maximum. The early history of the first people is held within an oral tradition, archeological evidence and petroglyphs. Near the town of Dampier is a peninsula known as Murujuga, which contains a large collection of World Heritage-listed petroglyphs, dating back thousands of years. Rock art in the Pilbara appears to have been mainly etched into the hard rock surfaces, whereas on the softer sandstone in the Kimberley rock paintings predominate.
20th century Working conditions in the pearling and pastoral industries for Aboriginal people in the Pilbara region around 1900 have been described as slavery, with no wages paid, kidnapping as well as severe and cruel punishments for misbehaviour and absconding all common practices. Some incidents, such as the Bendu Atrocity of 1897, attracted international condemnation. The first strike by Indigenous people in Australia took place in 1946 in the Pilbara, known as the Pilbara strike or Pilbara Aboriginal strike, when Aboriginal pastoral workers walked off the stations in protest at low pay and bad working conditions, a strike that lasted for over three years.
Family clans in the Pilbara who were supported by mining prospector, Don McLeod, developed skills for mining and the concentration of rare metals. For a short period money accumulated, which according to Aboriginal law was to be used for traditional ways. Eventually the funds were used to establish an independent Aboriginal-controlled school. The concept has expanded into a movement with around 20 similar schools established in northern Western Australia by the mid-1990s. Jan Richardson, wife of Victorian Aboriginal activist Stan Davey, wrote a biography of McLeod as a doctoral thesis.
21st century In 2006, it was estimated that 15% of the population of the Pilbara identify as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, approximately 6000 people.Water and Indigenous People in the Pilbara CSIRO study, published: September 2011, accessed: 1 December 2011
Many Pilbara communities face the many complex effects of colonisation, and lack adequate access to housing, health and education. A 1971 survey of 1000 Aboriginal people conducted by Pat McPherson found that most had one or more serious diseases. At the McClelland Royal Commission into British nuclear testing, Aboriginal people from the Pilbara provided evidence regarding the explosion on the Montebello Islands.
Aboriginal communities are sited over a number of different places.Western Australia Aboriginal Communities. Department of Indigenous Affairs. Many have poor infrastructure, and relations between police and Aboriginal people are often tense.
There are many Aboriginal corporations across the Pilbara, some of which administer Native Title responsibilities, and others which focus on social, health, and education outcomes. Since 2022, the Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation Ltd (NYFL), under the leadership of Yindjibarndi man Michael Woodley, and CEO Sean-Paul Stephens, has become known as one of the most impactful organisations in Western Australia, given its focus on advocacy and influence on social and economic policy.
Climate
The climate of the Pilbara is arid and tropical. It experiences high temperatures and low irregular rainfall that follows the summer cyclones. During the summer months, maximum temperatures exceed almost every day, and temperatures in excess of are not uncommon. Winter temperatures rarely drop below on the coast; however, inland temperatures as low as are occasionally recorded.
The Pilbara town of Marble Bar set a world record of most consecutive days of maximum temperatures of 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius) or more, during a period of 160 such days from 31 October 1923 to 7 April 1924.
The average annual rainfall in the region is between . Almost all of the Pilbara's rainfall occurs between December and May, usually with occasional heavy downpours in thunderstorms or tropical cyclones. The period from June to November is usually completely rainless, with warm to very hot and sunny conditions. Like most of the north coast of Australia, the coastal areas of the Pilbara experience occasional tropical cyclones. The frequency of cyclones crossing the Pilbara coast is about 7 every 10 years. Due to the low population density in the Pilbara region, cyclones rarely cause large scale destruction or loss of life.
Economy The area is known for its petroleum, natural gas and iron ore deposits, which contribute significantly to Australia's economy. Other than mining, pastoral activities as well as fishing and tourism are the main industries.