Pilbara | |
|---|---|
 Extent of Pilbara region | |
  Pilbara | |
| Coordinates:21°S119°E / 21°S 119°E /-21; 119 | |
| Country | Australia |
| State | Western Australia |
| LGAs | |
| Government | |
| • State electorates | |
| • Federal division | |
ThePilbara (/ˈpɪlbərə/) is a large, dry, sparsely populatedregion in the north ofWestern Australia. It is known for itsAboriginal people, its geography, its red earth, and its vast mineral deposits, in particulariron ore. It is also a globalbiodiversity hotspot forsubterranean fauna.[1]
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 theRegional Development Commissions Act 1993; the term also refers to the Pilbara shrublandsbioregion (which differs in extent) under theInterim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia (IBRA).[2][3]
| IBRA regions and subregions: IBRA7 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IBRA region / subregion | IBRA code | Area | States | Location in Australia | ||
| Pilbara shrublands | PIL | 17,823,126 hectares (44,041,900 acres) | WA |  | ||
| Chichester | PIL01 | 8,374,728 hectares (20,694,400 acres) | ||||
| Fortescue | PIL02 | 1,951,435 hectares (4,822,100 acres) | ||||
| Hamersley | PIL03 | 5,634,727 hectares (13,923,710 acres) | ||||
| Roebourne | PIL04 | 1,862,236 hectares (4,601,690 acres) | ||||
The Pilbara region, as defined by theRegional Development Commissions Act 1993 and administered for economic development purposes by the Pilbara Development Commission,[4] has an estimated population of 61,688 as of June 2018[update],[5][6] and covers an area of 507,896 square kilometres (196,100 sq mi).[7] It contains some ofEarth's oldest rock formations, and includes landscapes of coastal plains and mountain ranges with cliffs and gorges. The major settlements of the region arePort Hedland,Karratha andNewman. The three main ports in this region are Port Hedland,Dampier andPort Walcott.[8]
Under theRegional Development Commissions Act, Pilbara is situated south of theKimberley, and comprises thelocal 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 theUS States ofCalifornia andIndiana.[citation needed] It has a population of more than 45,000,[9] most of whom live in the western third of the region, in towns such asPort Hedland,Karratha,Wickham,Newman andMarble Bar. A substantial number of people also work in the region on afly-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 ofAboriginal people. The two areas are separated by the inland uplands of thePilbara Craton, including the predominantHamersley Range, which has numerous mining towns, theChichester Range, and others.[ambiguous] 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 asstromatolites and rocks such asgranites 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 atStrelley Pool, which preserve fossils ofsulphur-processing bacteria.[10] The mineralised spheres, which were found on an ancient beach and have a cell-likemorphology, were chemically analysed, revealing that they used sulphur for fuel.[11]
An extinct genus of stromatolite-formingcyanobacteria,Pilbaria, was named after the region, where thetype specimen was found.[12]
| Rank | UCL | LGA | Population | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 census | Ref. | 2006 census | Ref. | 2011 census | Ref. | 2016 census | Ref. | 2021 census | Ref. | |||
| 1 | Karratha | Karratha | 10,730 | [1] | 11,728 | [2] | 16,475 | [3] | 15,828 | [4] | 17,013 | [5] |
| 2 | Port Hedland | Port Hedland | 12,695 | [6] | 11,557 | [7] | 13,772 | [8] | 13,828 | [9] | 15,298 | [10] |
| 3 | Newman | East Pilbara | 3,516 | [11] | 4,245 | [12] | 5,478 | [13] | 4,567 | [14] | 4,239 | [15] |
| 4 | Tom Price | Ashburton | 3,095 | [16] | 2,721 | [17] | 3,134 | [18] | 2,956 | [19] | 2,874 | [20] |
| 5 | Wickham | Karratha | 1,724 | [21] | 1,825 | [22] | 1,651 | [23] | 1,572 | [24] | 2,016 | [25] |
| 6 | Paraburdoo | Ashburton | 1,202 | [26] | 1,607 | [27] | 1,509 | [28] | 1,359 | [29] | 1,319 | [30] |
| 7 | Dampier | Karratha | 1,469 | [31] | 1,370 | [32] | 1,341 | [33] | 1,104 | [34] | 1,282 | [35] |
| 8 | Onslow | Ashburton | 802 | [36] | 576 | [37] | 667 | [38] | 848 | [39] | 813 | [40] |
| 9 | Roebourne | Karratha | 950 | [41] | 857 | [42] | 813 | [43] | 627 | [44] | 700 | [45] |
| 10 | Pannawonica | Ashburton | 618 | [46] | 686 | [47] | 651 | [48] | 695 | [49] | 685 | [50] |
| 11 | Jigalong | East Pilbara | 300 | [51] | 273 | [52] | 357 | [53] | 333 | [54] | 289 | [55] |
| 12 | Point Samson | Karratha | 322 | [56] | 274 | [57] | 298 | [58] | 211 | [59] | 235 | [60] |
| 13 | Kiwirrkurra | East Pilbara | N/a | N/a | 216 | [61] | 165 | [62] | 180 | [63] | ||
| 14 | Marble Bar | East Pilbara | 234 | [64] | 194 | [65] | 208 | [66] | 174 | [67] | 153 | [68] |
| 15 | Nullagine | East Pilbara | N/a | N/a | 178 | [69] | 194 | [70] | 147 | [71] | ||
The Pilbara region, under the Pilbara Development Commission, contains fourlocal government areas:
According to the Pilbara Aboriginal Language CentreWangka Maya, the name for the Pilbara region derives from the Aboriginal wordbilybara, meaning "dry" in theNyamal andBanyjima languages.[13] Another suggested origin ispilbarra, an Aboriginal word for the salt-watermullet found in local waters, reflected in the name of a tributary of theYule River, Pilbarra Creek, which evolved to "Pilbara" Creek.[14][15][a] The Pilbara Goldfield, discovered in 1885, was named after the creek, and the name later became associated with the region.[15]
Radiocarbon dating estimates in evidence show thatrock art and standing stones atMurujuga in theDampier Archipelago, Australia's earliest known stone structures, believably dating from 6046 to 5338 BC, are of contextualization by thousands of years of unique cultural traditions andfolklore. These sites have lived up as part of survival in present times.
The first European to explore the area wasFrancis Thomas Gregory in 1861. Within two years, European settlers had begun arriving. The region was regarded as part of theNorth West at first – a larger area that included the modern Kimberley and Gascoyne regions.
Settlements along the coast atTien Tsin Harbour (later Cossack),Roebourne andCondon (officially Shellborough; later abandoned) were established over ensuing decades, mainly as centres of therangeland livestock (grazing/pastoral) industry orpearling ports. However, as naturalmother 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. Fromc. 1900, 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 theNullagine Goldfield andMarble Bar Goldfield. However, gold mining began to decline in the Pilbara in the mid-1890s, afteralluvial ore had been exhausted. In 1937, mining ofasbestos commenced atWittenoom Gorge. While the presence of abundantiron ore had been known for about a century, it was not until the 1960s and the discovery of high-grade ore in theHamersley Ranges that the area became pivotal to the state's economy, and towns built to accommodate mining and allied services boomed.[16]
In the 1950s, threeBritish nuclear weapons tests were carried out in theMontebello Islands, 130 km (81 mi) off the Pilbara coast.
TheAboriginal 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 theLast Glacial Maximum.[17] The early history of the first people is held within anoral tradition,archeological evidence andpetroglyphs. Near the town of Dampier is a peninsula known asMurujuga, 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.
Working conditions in the pearling and pastoral industries for Aboriginal people in the Pilbara region around 1900 have been described asslavery, with no wages paid, kidnapping as well as severe and cruel punishments for misbehaviour and absconding all common practices.[18] Some incidents, such as theBendu Atrocity of 1897, attracted international condemnation. The first strike by Indigenous people in Australia took place in 1946 in the Pilbara, known as thePilbara 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.[19]
Family clans in the Pilbara who were supported by mining prospector,Don McLeod,[20] developed skills for mining and the concentration ofrare 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.[21] The concept has expanded into a movement with around 20 similar schools established in northern Western Australia by the mid-1990s.[citation needed]Jan Richardson, wife ofVictorian Aboriginal activistStan Davey, wrote a biography of McLeod as adoctoral thesis.[22][23]
In 2006, it was estimated that 15% of the population of the Pilbara identify asAboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people, approximately 6000 people.[24]
Many Pilbara communities face the many complex effects of colonisation, and lack adequate access to housing, health and education.[25][26] A 1971 survey of 1000 Aboriginal people conducted by Pat McPherson found that most had one or more serious diseases.[27] At theMcClelland Royal Commission into British nuclear testing, Aboriginal people from the Pilbara provided evidence regarding the explosion on the Montebello Islands.[28]
Aboriginal communities are sited over a number of different places.[29] Many have poor infrastructure,[30][31] and relations between police and Aboriginal people are often tense.[32]
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, theNgarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation Ltd (NYFL), under the leadership of Yindjibarndi man Michael Woodley, and CEOSean-Paul Stephens, has become known as one of most impactful organisations in Western Australia, given its focus on advocacy and influence on social and economic policy.
The climate of the Pilbara isarid andtropical.[6] It experiences high temperatures and low irregular rainfall that follows the summercyclones. During the summer months, maximum temperatures exceed 32 °C (90 °F) almost every day, and temperatures in excess of 45 °C (113 °F) are not uncommon. Winter temperatures rarely drop below 10 °C (50 °F) on the coast; however, inland temperatures as low as 0 °C (32 °F) are occasionally recorded.
The Pilbara town ofMarble Bar set a world record of most consecutive days of maximumtemperatures of 100 degreesFahrenheit (37.8 degreesCelsius) or more, during a period of 160 such days from 31 October 1923 to 7 April 1924.[33]
The average annual rainfall in the region is between 200 and 350 millimetres (7.9 and 13.8 in).[6] Almost all of the Pilbara's rainfall occurs between December and May, usually with occasional heavy downpours inthunderstorms 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.[6][34] Due to the low population density in the Pilbara region, cyclones rarely cause large scale destruction or loss of life.
| Climate data for Port Hedland (Coastal) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 49.0 (120.2) | 48.2 (118.8) | 45.9 (114.6) | 42.4 (108.3) | 38.8 (101.8) | 35.5 (95.9) | 34.4 (93.9) | 36.8 (98.2) | 42.2 (108.0) | 46.9 (116.4) | 47.4 (117.3) | 47.9 (118.2) | 49.0 (120.2) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 36.4 (97.5) | 36.2 (97.2) | 36.7 (98.1) | 35.2 (95.4) | 30.6 (87.1) | 27.6 (81.7) | 27.1 (80.8) | 29.2 (84.6) | 32.3 (90.1) | 34.8 (94.6) | 36.2 (97.2) | 36.6 (97.9) | 33.2 (91.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 25.6 (78.1) | 25.5 (77.9) | 24.5 (76.1) | 21.4 (70.5) | 17.2 (63.0) | 14.1 (57.4) | 12.3 (54.1) | 13.1 (55.6) | 15.4 (59.7) | 18.4 (65.1) | 21.3 (70.3) | 24.0 (75.2) | 19.4 (66.9) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 18.1 (64.6) | 16.3 (61.3) | 15.8 (60.4) | 12.2 (54.0) | 7.0 (44.6) | 4.7 (40.5) | 3.2 (37.8) | 3.7 (38.7) | 7.7 (45.9) | 11.1 (52.0) | 12.4 (54.3) | 16.6 (61.9) | 3.2 (37.8) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 62.2 (2.45) | 94.8 (3.73) | 50.1 (1.97) | 22.4 (0.88) | 27.0 (1.06) | 20.7 (0.81) | 11.1 (0.44) | 4.9 (0.19) | 1.3 (0.05) | 0.9 (0.04) | 2.7 (0.11) | 17.9 (0.70) | 314.4 (12.38) |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology[35] | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Newman (Inland) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 47.0 (116.6) | 46.0 (114.8) | 43.3 (109.9) | 40.4 (104.7) | 35.2 (95.4) | 33.0 (91.4) | 31.0 (87.8) | 34.1 (93.4) | 38.0 (100.4) | 42.9 (109.2) | 43.9 (111.0) | 45.0 (113.0) | 47.0 (116.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 39.5 (103.1) | 37.2 (99.0) | 35.8 (96.4) | 31.6 (88.9) | 27.3 (81.1) | 22.9 (73.2) | 23.0 (73.4) | 25.8 (78.4) | 30.5 (86.9) | 35.0 (95.0) | 37.4 (99.3) | 38.9 (102.0) | 32.1 (89.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 25.3 (77.5) | 24.4 (75.9) | 22.4 (72.3) | 18.4 (65.1) | 13.0 (55.4) | 9.6 (49.3) | 8.1 (46.6) | 10.1 (50.2) | 13.7 (56.7) | 17.9 (64.2) | 21.4 (70.5) | 23.9 (75.0) | 17.3 (63.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 16.1 (61.0) | 17.0 (62.6) | 9.0 (48.2) | 6.0 (42.8) | 1.0 (33.8) | −1.1 (30.0) | −2.0 (28.4) | −2.0 (28.4) | 1.0 (33.8) | 6.0 (42.8) | 11.8 (53.2) | 15.2 (59.4) | −2.0 (28.4) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 57.2 (2.25) | 78.9 (3.11) | 41.7 (1.64) | 18.4 (0.72) | 18.5 (0.73) | 14.6 (0.57) | 15.1 (0.59) | 7.7 (0.30) | 3.4 (0.13) | 4.7 (0.19) | 10.5 (0.41) | 37.4 (1.47) | 312.0 (12.28) |
| Source:[36] | |||||||||||||
The area is known for itspetroleum,natural gas and iron ore deposits, which contribute significantly toAustralia's economy. Other than mining, pastoral activities as well as fishing and tourism are the main industries.[37]
Despite an economic output of over $125 billion per year (as of 2025),[38] the economic wellbeing of the Aboriginal community has deteriorated over the last three decades.[39] Professor Peter Yu of the Australian National University has labeled this disparity as “economic apartheid”.[40] ProfessorMarcia Langton has written about the extreme disparity between Pilbara Aboriginal communities like Ieramugadu (Roebourne), and towns like Karratha and Dampier, only 45km away, which are home to much of the mining, oil and gas workforce.[41]
In 2025,Seven West Media published an opinion article[42] byRegional Development Australia (Pilbara) board member and CEO of theNgarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation Ltd (NYFL) Sean-Paul Stephens, on the failure of the Pilbara in achieving economic reconciliation in the years since thePilbara Strike.
The Pilbara's economy is dominated bymining exports andpetroleum export industries.[43]
During the 1970s the area was known for union militancy with many strikes and some mines operating as fully unionised 'closed shops.' This was challenged by employers from the mid-1980s onwards and the region now has a very low level of union membership compared to other parts of Australia.[44]
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Most ofAustralia'siron ore is mined in the Pilbara, with mines mostly centred aroundTom Price andNewman. The iron ore industry employs 9,000 people from the Pilbara area. The Pilbara also has one of the world's majormanganese mines, Woodie Woodie, situated 400 kilometres (250 mi) southeast of Port Hedland.
Iron ore deposits were first discovered by prospector Stan Hilditch, who in 1957 found a large iron ore deposit in the southernOphthalmia Range, at what was to become theMount Whaleback mine.[45]
In the 1960s, it was reportedly called "one of the most massive ore bodies in the world" by Thomas Price, then vice president of US-based steel company Kaiser Steel.Geoscience Australia calculated that the country's "economic demonstrated resources" of iron amounted to 24 gigatonnes, or 24 billion tonnes. According to theAustralian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics, as of 2010[update], that resource is being used up at a rate of 324 million tonnes a year, with rates expected to increase over coming years. ExpertsGavin Mudd (Monash University) and Jonathon Law (CSIRO) expect it to be gone within 30 to 50 years (Mudd) and 56 years (Law).[46]
As of 2010[update], active iron ore mines in the Pilbara are:
A significant part of Pilbara's economy is based onliquified natural gas (LNG) through theNorth West Shelf Venture andPluto LNG plant, both operated by Woodside.
Despite Woodside’s North West Shelf and Pluto Gas Plants recording record profits over the life of operations, Woodside’s agreements with Traditional Owners have been heavily criticised, given no royalties are provided to the Aboriginal community, and “gag clauses” are enforced through their agreements.[48]
The region also has a number of cattle-grazing stations, and a substantial tourist sector, with popular natural attractions including theKarijini andMillstream-Chichester national parks and theDampier Archipelago.
The first railway in the Pilbara region was thenarrow-gaugeMarble Bar Railway betweenPort Hedland andMarble Bar. TheMarble Bar Railway opened in July 1911 and closed in October 1951. The Roebourne-Cossack Tramway opened in 1897 and many industrial railways have been built to serve the mines.[49]
Five heavy-duty railways are associated with the various iron-ore mines. They are allstandard gauge and built to the heaviest North American standards. Rio Tinto runsdriverless trains on its railways.[50]
The ports of the Pilbara are:
The dominant flora of the Pilbara isacacia trees and shrubs and drought-resistantTriodiaspinifex grasses. Several species of acacia (wattle) trees are endemic to the Pilbara and are the focus of conservation programs, along with wildflowers and other local specialities.[citation needed]
"Fairy circles" (known aslinyji in theManyjilyjarra language andmingkirri in theWarlpiri language) which are circular patches of land barren of plants, varying between 2 and 12 metres (7 and 39 ft) in diameter and often encircled by a ring of stimulated growth of grass, are found in the western part of theGreat Sandy Desert in the Pilbara. It has not yet been proven what causes these formations, but one theory suggests that they have been built and inhabited byAustralian harvester termites since thePleistocene.[51][52]
The Pilbara is home to a wide variety of endemic species adapted to this tough environment. There is a high diversity of invertebrates, including hundreds of species ofsubterranean fauna (bothstygofauna andtroglofauna), which are microscopic invertebrates that live in caves,vugs or groundwateraquifers of the region, and terrestrial fauna (seeshort-range endemic invertebrates). The Pilbaraolive python, thewestern pebble-mound mouse, and thePilbara ningaui of the Hamersley Range are among the many species of animals within the fragile ecosystems of this desert ecoregion. Birds include theAustralian hobby,nankeen kestrel,spotted harrier,mulga parrot andbudgerigars.
Wildlife has been damaged by the extraction of iron, natural gas and asbestos, but the protection of culturally and environmentally sensitive areas of the Pilbara is now enhanced by the delineation of several protected areas, including theMillstream-Chichester and theKarijini National Parks.[citation needed]
The western Pilbara is part of thePilbara freshwater ecoregion, also known as the Pilbara-Gascoyne or Indian Ocean drainage basin. The freshwater region is characterized byintermittent rivers which form deep gorges, and brackish-water caves that host endemic species. The region includes the drainages of theMurchison,Gascoyne,Ashburton,Fortescue, andDe Grey rivers. The Great Sandy Desert, which covers the eastern Pilbara, has little freshwater habitat.[53]
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