July 13 ... Port Hedland

It was quite a nice day today so we decided to investigate Port Hedland further albeit with pretty low expectations. On our drive in we passed the same run down houses but they looked a bit better in the sunshine, and we did see some much nicer ones as well. Most of the new homes are made of steel and colourbond while the old ones tend to be fibro with protective steel grates in front of all glass.

Neater than many!

Steel grids are cyclone protection

Love the landscaping!

A new home

There are also a number of sculptures around the town which are nice. The one of "Three Palms" was commissioned by BHP after the very destructive Cyclone George in 2007. And the ones of the indigenous people commemorate their 1946 Strike here at Port Hedland when more than 1000 indigenous pastoral workers held out successfully for better pay and working conditions.

 "Three Palms"

"Paper Planes" ... crashed!

Sculpture commemorating the 1946 Strike

"Indigenous Stockmen"

 There are not many old or historic places in town and the reasons given for this were the cyclones, of which they get on average 4 a year, and the white ants.  We did manage to find a couple though which were very interesting.
The first was the Medical Staff Quarters of the Royal Flying Doctors. John Flynn, the founder of the service, set up his first base and hospital in Port Hedland in 1935.
We also visited Dalgetty House which has been fully restored by the Historical Society, and it was excellent. The Dalgetty Pastoral Company influenced the way of life for most of the settlers in this region. It was the source of all their supplies; it loaned money;and it took produce to markets which were often as far afield as London. The manager was courted and bribed because he was such a powerful figure. As well as lots of interesting material we did find one amusing photo of the Indigenous Polo Team. Note their steeds which I am sure were very different from those ridden by the pastoralists team!
There was also a small Pearler's Cottage to commemorate a past industry of the area.

Medical Staff Quarters ... early architecture

Pearler's Cottage

Dagetty Pastoral Company

The Indigenous Polo Team

We decided on an early lunch in this interesting "train carriage" cafe before going across to the Art Gallery. The carriage was part of a train donated by an American company and it did a weekly passenger run from Newman to Port Hedland. On a deck out the back was a shaded eating area and we had a nice coffee and baguette.

The "Whistle Stop" Cafe

I have been very impressed with the indigenous art we have seen on this trip, and this exhibition was no exception. The colours in the paintings were so bright and attractive ... but they were expensive, mostly over $2000. I am sure they are worth the money but they are out of our range!

"Bush Tucker"

"Wild Onions"

"Mulla Mulla Country"

"Emu Dreaming"

We then went for a walk as close to the port as we were allowed to go. It was interesting, if not particularly attractive. A large part of the docks are not visible but we could still see the stockpiles of iron ore and much of the loading machinery.

Trees showing cyclone damage in front of stockpile.

Ore carrier ready for loading

Small ore ship entering port

The massive BHP Iron Ore Loading Facility extends almost the whole length of the town and dominates the skyline ... and it is ugly. Together with the railway, the skyline is just a mass of machines, cranes and power poles, all, of which are covered in red dust.

Ore Loader

BHP Building

The Port Hedland skyline

Just at the entrance to town is the Redbank Bridge, an elevated road bridge that goes over the railway line. On the side of it they have built an observation platform from which you can see the ore trains as they pass underneath and you have an excellent view of the Salt Works. These are owned by Rio Tinto and are solar powered.

The Salt Mine

Salt Drying Lakes

An Ore Train

It took a while, and we had to wait patiently, but eventually an ore train came into view. It was smaller than expected but still impressive in its length, which was about 1.5 kms.




Given what a great day we had I guess we have to revise our first impression of the town. It does have some lovely areas and a real effort has been made to improve its image. At high tide the water has the beautiful colours that we like and the beaches look nice.There is really quite a lot to see and do here and we will have no trouble filling in our two days!