The City of Karratha is one of the four

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

s in the

Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, thinly populated region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Aboriginal peoples; its ancient landscapes; the red earth; and its vast mineral deposits, in particular iron ore. It is also a g ...

region of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...

. It covers an area of and had a population of about 21,500 as at the 2016 Census, most of which is located in its seat of government, the city of Karratha, and the major towns. It was formerly known as the Shire of Roebourne but was renamed and granted city status on 1 July 2014.

History

The City of Karratha originated as the Roebourne Road District, which was established on 6 January 1887. The towns of Roebourne and Cossack were both excised as their own municipalities on 1 December 1887, forming the

Municipality of Roebourne A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the g ...

and

Municipality of Cossack The Municipality of Cossack was a local government area in Western Australia, centred on the town of Cossack. It was established on 1 December 1887. The council consisted of seven members with a chairman elected by the members. The first election ...

. As the region's population declined, both the Roebourne and Cossack municipalities merged back into the road district in 1910, Roebourne on 11 March and then Cossack on 13 August. On 1 July 1961, it became the Shire of Roebourne under the ''Local Government Act 1960''. On 1 July 2014 it was granted city status and renamed the City of Karratha.

Wards

The city is divided into wards: *Karratha (six councillors) *Dampier (two councillors) *Roebourne/Pastoral (one councillor)

Towns

Cossack The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

* Dampier * Karratha * Point Samson * Roebourne *

Whim Creek Whim may refer to: * Whim, U.S. Virgin Islands, a settlement * Whim (mining), a capstan or drum with a vertical axle used in mining * Whim (carriage), a type of carriage * ''Whim'', a reissue of ''Adventures of Wim'', a book by George Cockroft as ...

* Wickham

Heritage-listed places

As of 2021, 122 places are heritage-listed in the City of Karratha, of which 29 are on the

State Register of Heritage Places The State Register of Heritage Places is the heritage register of historic sites in Western Australia deemed significant at the state level by the Heritage Council of Western Australia. History In the 1970s, following its establishment of the ...

. Of those, 18 are located in

and ten are in Roebourne; with the only one outside those two locations being the

Cooya Pooya Cooya Pooya Station most often referred to as Cooya Pooya or Cooyapooya is a pastoral lease operating as a sheep station in Western Australia. Description The property is situated approximately south of Roebourne and south east of Dampier al ...

Station.

References

External links

* {{coord, -20.736, 116.846, type:adm2nd_region:AU-WA, format=dms, display=title Karratha Cities in Western Australia