Visiting Karratha, Western Australia? Learn more about the Western Australian Karratha town next to the port of Dampier in Australia…
Located in the Pilbara region in the west of Australia, the town of Karratha, was developed in the 1960s. The main reason for its establishment was to house the workforce of the Hamersley Iron Ore and Petroleum Extraction Company.
It was the town involved in the export and processing of petroleum and its complementary products like natural gas and iron ore. The initial stages started with the development of iron mining establishments, while the petroleum and natural gas units were established in the 1980s in the city of Karratha, Western Australia.
As part of the main setup for the operations of the North West Shelf Venture the town gets its name from the cattle station that was based on the line, which was reclaimed to create the locality of Karratha, Western Australia. In the Aboriginal dialect the name of the town translates as soft earth or the good country.
Located approximately 954 miles towards the north of Perth, Karratha Western Australia falls exactly 528 miles to the south of Broome.
Suburbs of Karratha, Western Australia
The town of Karratha is comprised of 9 main suburban areas, which are named Bulgarra, Millars Well, Pegs Creek, Nickol West and Nickol, Baynton, Multaga, Gap Ridge, and one of the industrial suburbs which is known by two names; the LIA Light Industrial Area and Karratha Industrial Estate. There are new villages and suburbs constantly established in the town of Karratha as the community continues to grow. In fact, the main Tambrey Centre even progressed further to develop residential housing as part of a futuristic infrastructure strengthening and development process. Over the years the region of Nickol and Nickol West have also been expanded up to the 21st-century and beyond. The rundown area in the suburban district of Baynton West is continuously being expanded and developed.
Karratha Economy and Employment
Karratha’s main source of economic growth comes from the locally mined iron ore. Under the operations of the renowned Rio Tinto Group the town has its workforce involved in both ammonia export operations and sea salt mining. The massive development project of North West Shelf Natural Gas and access to the largest natural resource of gas called the Pluto LNG project are both located in the town. The Pluto LNG project lies adjacent to the current North West Shelf LNG facility making it a very lucrative position for both the facilities and promises subsequent economic potential for the workforce in the town.
The town actually flourished in the late 60s because of the need for a talented workforce as Karratha, Western Australia became a force to reckon and a leading supplier of iron-ore. When the land in the port city of Dampier diminished, there was increased development and reclamation of the cattle station, which is the present-day city of Karratha.
Facilities in the Town of Karratha, Western Australia
This fully equipped town has restaurants and a variety of accommodations like hotels and bed and breakfast establishments that cater to visitors. There are huge shopping centers as well as complexes for residences and shopping continuously being developed and introduced into the town. There are four public schools and one private primary school along with a public and private high school as well as the TAFE center, which offers university facilities along with a library for students.
