About Port Hedland

Port Hedland was established in 1896 on Kariyarra country on the Pilbara coast, 1765km northwest of Perth, 242km from Karratha and 612km from Broome.

Today, there are two main residential areas, Port Hedland (located on the coast) and South Hedland (13 km inland). 

Port Hedland is a dynamic town in Western Australia’s beautiful North West located approximately 1,800km north of Perth. We are home to around 16,000 people from diverse cultural backgrounds, most of who live in the main residential areas and surrounding pastoral stations and Indigenous communities.

Port Hedland covers 1,844 square kilometres of the Pilbara region.

Our lifestyle is relaxed and our location on the ocean provides for a variety of leisure activities. 

The Wedgefield Industrial Area contains a variety of light and service industry premises and the iron ore crushing and shipping facilities are features synonymous with our rugged landscape, along with the expanded port facilities.

We are proud to be Australia’s largest bulk export port with Pilbara Ports Authority recording a record annual tonnage throughput of over 633.5 million tonnes in 2015/16 with 460.4 million tonnes throughput at Port Hedland.

Our role is well established on the national and international stage, attracting internationally prominent resource companies and contributing at a nationally recognised level to the broader Australian economy.

Aboriginal culture and history 

Port Hedland has rich cultural history and identity. The traditional owners of the Port Hedland area, the Kariyarra people, call Port Hedland 'Marapikurrinya': 'Mara' means hand; 'Pikurri' means pointing straight and 'Nya' is a location marker. The name refers to the hand shaped formation of the natural tidal creeks moving in from the coast. These land and water formations were created during the dreaming when a creation spirit arose from the landlocked area of water, known as the Jalkawarrinya (today's turning basin for ships moving through Hedland's Port). 

There are over 31 Aboriginal language groups in the Pilbara region, and Kariyarra country is immediately neighboured by Ngarluma, Yindjibarni and Nyamal countries, as well as the culturally and historically significant Dampier Archipelago, the Burrup Peninsula and the Hamersley Ranges. The Burrup Peninsula alone is home to over forty thousand petroglyphs (rock engravings). 

Today Pilbara Aboriginal cultural and language groups are still strongly connected with their land and cultural beliefs and practices. Traditional law practices and custodianship obligations are still essential part of Aboriginal cultural identity. 

Local history 

Port Hedland was first sighted by Europeans in 1628, when Dutch explorer Gerrit Frederikson De Witt ran his ship Vyanan aground on the sandbars in the tidal inlet. 

In 1863, Captain Peter Hedland ran his ship, the Mystery, aground as he searched for a suitable location for a port for the Pilbara's expanding pastoral industry. Shortly after naming this area 'Mangrove Harbour' the site became a pastoral and pearling lugger frontier town. Supporting the inland goldmining, Port Hedland was gazetted and named a town in 1896. 

In the mid twentieth century it was discovered that the Pilbara highlands were rich in iron ore and in 1960 the Commonwealth lifted its restrictions on the trading of iron ore due to international demand for the resource. Port Hedland was expanded with major infrastructural developments to cater for this new industrial imperative, including the establishment of South Hedland. 

Port Hedland today operates one of the world's largest tonnage ports, handling over 573 million tonnes of product worth over $115.8 billion a year. The main industries, which define Port Hedland's physical and economic landscape, are iron ore processing and export, salt production and exporting manganese, other minerals and livestock, tracing new and old trading routes through the seas. 

Weather

The weather and climate in the Pilbara varies greatly across two distinct seasons (with temperatures ranging from 5 to 40 degrees Celsius) each offering vastly different experiences of the region.

The Summer (wet) season is generally from November to April. This is generally a quieter time in the region, days are hot and nights are balmy.

During this season you can expect spectacular lightning shows, spectacular sunsets, thundering waterfalls and plenty of wildlife. During the wet season you may experience road closures and some localised flooding as well as cyclones in the region. Some activities, tours and locations may not be open in this period, so it is best to plan in advance to avoid any disappointment. 

The Winter (dry) season is from May to November. This is the most popular time to visit the Pilbara. The daytime temperatures are much milder (average 26 degrees celsius) and are suited to outdoor activities and adventures, and nights are cool. 

For more detailed information about the weather and climate in the Pilbara region, visit the Bureau of Meteorology.