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Karratha is a city in the
Pilbara The Pilbara () is a large, dry, sparsely populated regions of Western Australia, region in the north of Western Australia. It is known for its Indigenous Australians, Aboriginal people; wealth disparity; its ancient landscapes; the prevailing r ...
region of
Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...
, adjoining the port of Dampier. It is located in the traditional lands and waters of the Ngarluma people, for whom it has been ( or 'country') for tens of thousands of years. Located about east-southeast of the site of three nuclear weapons tests by the British (
Operation Hurricane Operation Hurricane was the first test of a Nuclear weapons of the United Kingdom, British atomic device. A plutonium Nuclear weapon design#Implosion-type weapon, implosion device was detonated on 3 October 1952 in Main Bay, Trimouille Island ...
in 1952 and Operation Mosaic in 1956), it was established in 1968 to accommodate the processing and exportation workforce of the Hamersley Iron mining company and, in the 1980s, the
petroleum Petroleum, also known as crude oil or simply oil, is a naturally occurring, yellowish-black liquid chemical mixture found in geological formations, consisting mainly of hydrocarbons. The term ''petroleum'' refers both to naturally occurring un ...
and
liquefied natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volume o ...
operations of the Woodside-operated North West Shelf Venture located on Murujuga. As of the , Karratha had an urban population of 17,013. The city's name comes from the cattle station of the same name, which derives from a word in a local Aboriginal language meaning "good country" or "soft earth". More recently, Ngarluma people have indicated the name may actually relate to an early interpretation of , stemming from the
sacred site A sacred space, sacred ground, sacred place, sacred temple, holy ground, holy place or holy site is a location which is regarded to be sacred or hallowed. The sacredness of a natural feature may accrue through tradition or be granted through ...
for the whale, located in the Karratha area, called . The city is the seat of government of the
City of Karratha The City of Karratha is one of the four local government areas in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. 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 ...
, a
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 federated state, state, province, division (politica ...
covering the surrounding region.


History

The land on which Karratha was established has been Ngarluma country for millennia. In traditional culture, the creation of the landscape occurred in a time called , meaning "when the world was soft". Francis Thomas Gregory led an expedition to the north west of Western Australia in 1861. Returning to Perth, he reported the area was suitable for agricultural purposes and a possible pearling industry. This was the major starting point for dispossession of Aboriginal lands across the Karratha area, as pastoralists flocked to the area to establish sheep stations. During this period of dispossession of Aboriginal people in the Pilbara, the Karratha area became a sheep station. Many Aboriginal people were forced into unpaid labour on the sheep stations, including Karratha Station. By 1946, after Aboriginal people had worked for rations (considered a form of
slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
), the Aboriginal community demanded fair wages. Labour costs increased for the Karratha Station following the 1946 Pilbara strike, who were seeking fair pay and conditions after generations of Aboriginal people working on stations for very little or no pay and in poor conditions. Many Aboriginal people " walked off" Pilbara stations at this time. Archaeological dating suggests that Aboriginal people have inhabited the Pilbara region for the past 40,000 years. The traditional land tenure system of Aboriginal communities, including the Ngarluma people across the Karratha area, stands in contrast to the European notion of land ownership. Instead of individuals possessing exclusive rights to utilise and sell parcels of land, Ngarluma lands were collectively owned by social groups. While certain family groups might inherit rights and responsibilities concerning particular territories, ownership primarily rested on their custodianship of the spiritual significance of the land. This encompassed spiritual sites, stories, songs, ceremonies, and sacred objects. Successive generations were entrusted with the duty of safeguarding these sacred sites, caring for the land, and perpetuating spiritual traditions and practices, with a firm prohibition against land disposal or desecration. This systems remain active today across the Karratha area, though it has been significantly disrupted due to colonisation and dispossession. The Karratha town is within the Ngarluma native title determination area. Native title determination was made by the Federal Court on 2 May 2005 in ''Daniel v Western Australia'' 005FCA 536. More recently, Ngarluma people have indicated the name may actually relate to an early interpretation of , stemming from the sacred site for the whale, located in the Karratha area, called .


Geography

Karratha, an isolated city, is located approximately north of
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
and west of Port Hedland on the North West Coastal Highway. It is at the south central end of Nickol Bay, which has had settlements on the bay since the 1860s. The city is roughly rectangular in layout and is located on flat land adjacent to Nickol Bay. Tidal salt flats and areas of mangrove separate the city from the sea. Immediately to the south of the city lies a line of low hills.


Climate

Karratha has a hot
desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk'') is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...
(BWh)
classification Classification is the activity of assigning objects to some pre-existing classes or categories. This is distinct from the task of establishing the classes themselves (for example through cluster analysis). Examples include diagnostic tests, identif ...
. Temperatures are warm to hot all year round, with low rainfall, most of which falls in late summer due to the influence of
tropical cyclones A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...
and the
monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...
, although there is a second rainfall peak in early winter as the northern edges of
cold front A cold front is the leading edge of a cooler mass of air at ground level that replaces a warmer mass of air and lies within a pronounced surface Trough (meteorology), trough of Low-pressure area, low pressure. It often forms behind an extratropica ...
s occasionally cause rain in the region. It is very rare for any rain to fall in the period from August to December. Winter temperatures rarely drop below 10 °C, while maximums stay in the mid to high 20s and days are sunny with low humidity. Summers are very hot and usually dry although the erratic influence of the monsoon can cause periods of high humidity and
thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustics, acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorm ...
s. The record high temperature is 48.4 °C (119.1 °F), which was set 13 January 2022, while the record low is 6.9 °C (44.4 °F). The highest monthly rainfall on record was 348.8mm (13.7 in) in February 2011, owing to the passage of Cyclone Carlos and several other monsoonal lows over Karratha; the highest daily rainfall was due to the passage of Cyclone Sean on 20 January 2025.


Population

As of the , there were 17,013 people in Karratha, a decline from the recent peak of 17,927 in 2013. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. As of the : * 64.9% of people in Karratha were born in Australia. The next most common countries of birth were New Zealand 4.2%, England 2.6%, Philippines 2.4%, India 1.4% and South Africa 1.3%. * 72.3% of people in Karratha spoke only English at home. Other languages spoken at home included Tagalog 1.3%, Filipino 0.9%, Mandarin 0.7% and Afrikaans 0.6%. * The most common responses for religion were no religion 47.5% and Catholic 16.3%. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, predominantly Ngarluma, make up 9.0% of the population. The Yinidbarndi, Yaburara, Mardudhunera, and Woon-goo-tt-oo peoples have lived in the surrounding area for approximately 50,000 years. In 2023, the
OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; , OCDE) is an international organization, intergovernmental organization with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and international trade, wor ...
reported extreme disparity in the social and economic wellbeing between many Aboriginal people and those working in the resources sector. The OECD reported that socioeconomic gaps that persist even amid regional affluence. Data show that some areas in Karratha, like Cowrie Court, Ridley Street and Warrier Street in Bulgarra, are among the most disadvantaged in Australia. On the other hand, towns like Dampier, linked to Rio Tinto, are in the top level for socio-economic advantage in the country.


Economy

Karratha's economic base includes the
iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the f ...
operations of the
Rio Tinto Group Rio Tinto Group is a British-Australian multinational company that is the world's second largest metals and mining corporation (behind BHP). It was founded in 1873 when a group of investors purchased a mine complex on the Río Tinto, in Hu ...
; sea-salt mining;
ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...
export operations; North West Shelf Venture,
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
's largest natural resource development; the newest
natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
project, Pluto LNG, which is situated adjacent to the existing North West Shelf LNG facility; and the
ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...
/technical
ammonium nitrate Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, but does not form hydrates. It is predominantly us ...
production facility of Yara International. Karratha came into being in 1968 due to the tremendous growth of the iron-ore industry and the need for a new regional centre caused by a shortage of land in Dampier. Karratha has the largest shopping centre in the Pilbara, Karratha City, which has major food and grocery retailers and department store chains. It was opened in 1986 as Karratha City and expanded in 2005. The centre also serves the neighbouring towns of Dampier, Wickham and Roebourne. There is also a smaller centre, Karratha Village, which has health services including a pharmacy and medical and dental practices. The Karratha Health Campus is the hospital that services the greater City of Karratha local government area, newly opened in 2018.


Aboriginal organisations and culture

Many Aboriginal organisations are based in the Karratha area. The Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation is the registered native title body corporate. The Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation Ltd (NYFL) is the representative body for many Traditional Owners across the area. NYFL delivers social, cultural and economic empowerment programs and social impact initiatives, led by the First Nations community. NYFL is recognised for its programs that support food security, employment and training, advocacy and progressing Indigenous self-determination. In 2024, NYFL entered a Memorandum of Understanding with the Australian National University to advance Aboriginal data sovereignty in the area. As of 2022, NYFL has been led by internationally renowned First Nations leader Michael Woodley as Chairman, and social impact expert Sean-Paul Stephens. The Ngarluma language is the traditional language of the Karratha area. , only a handful of fluent Ngarluma speakers remain.


Facilities

Education is provided through four public primary schools, one independent public school and one private primary school, one public and one private high school ( Karratha Senior High School and St Luke's College), a
TAFE Technical and further education or simply TAFE () is the common name in Australia for vocational education, as a subset of tertiary education. TAFE institutions provide a wide range of predominantly vocational courses. Colloquially also known ...
centre with remote university facilities. A new library was opened in 2018, Karratha Public Library. A new hospital was opened in 2018, Karratha Health Campus. Red Earth Arts Precinct opened in 2018. This venue has a theatre that can also operate as an indoor cinema, outdoor cinema, rehearsal rooms and art spaces. Karratha Airport has two passenger airlines servicing the city with regular schedules:
Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...
and Virgin Australia. The airport also serves as the hub of the Pilbara's light-aircraft and helicopter services, enabling contractors to access offshore destinations and other parts of the region. Cape Preston Aerodrome (
ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...
: YCPR) is about south of town.


Annual festivals and events

Each year in August Pilbara Iron, Dampier Salt, Woodside Energy, and other smaller companies sponsor one of the largest festivals in the north west, over two days. The name ''FeNaClNG Festival'' is derived from Fe (iron), NaCl (salt) and NG (natural gas). Others are Red Earth Arts Festival and Cossack Art Awards.


Suburbs

Karratha comprises the following main suburbs: * Karratha City Centre * Bulgarra * Pegs Creek * Millars Well * Nickol * Nickol West * Baynton * Baynton West * Tambrey * Mulataga There is an industrial area, known as both the LIA (Light Industrial Area) and KIE (Karratha Industrial Estate). Gap Ridge, a second industrial estate, is west of the city, past the cemetery.


Media


Radio

Radio services available in Karratha: * Vision Christian Radio (1611 AM) Christian radio station * Faith FM (87.6 FM) Religious station * Karratha FM 93.7 Country music format * ABC North West WA (6KP: 702 AM) Part of the
ABC Local Radio ABC Local Radio is a network of publicly owned radio stations in Australia, operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ABC Local Radio stations broadcast across the continent using terrestrial transmitters and satellites. Its programm ...
network, Talk, news, sport and music *
ABC NewsRadio ABC NewsRadio, since 2017 broadcast under the ABC News brand and for a short time known as ABC News on Radio, is a 24-hour news radio service broadcast by the Australian public broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). ABC ...
(6PNN: 104.1 FM) Rolling news format * ABC
Radio National ABC Radio National, more commonly known as Radio National or simply RN, is an Australian nationwide public service radio network run by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). From 1947 until 1985, the network was known as ABC Radio 2. ...
(6ABCRN: 100.9 FM) Speciality talk and music * TAB Racing Radio (FM 101.7) *
Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...
(6JJJ: 103.3 FM) Alternative music * Hit FM (106.5 FM) Top 40 music *
Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 45 radio stations with flagship stations broadcasting a mainstream/classic rock music format in Sydney, Melbourne, and B ...
- Radio 6KA (102.5 FM) Classic hits / adult contemporary music format aimed at 35+ years audience * Ngaarda Radio (92.1 FM) Indigenous radio station, country music / indigenous music and regional news


Television

Television services available include: *The
Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is ...
(ABC) – ABC, ABC Family/Kids, ABC Entertains, ABC News (digital channels) *The
Special Broadcasting Service The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public broadcasting, public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from tax revenue. SBS operates six TV channels (SBS (Australian TV chann ...
(SBS) – SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World Movies, SBS WorldWatch, SBS Food, NITV (digital channels) * Seven, an owned and operated station of the
Seven Network Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...
*
WIN Television WIN Television is an Australian television broadcasting, Australian television network owned and operated by WIN Corporation that is based in Wollongong, New South Wales. WIN commenced transmissions on 18 March 1962 as a single television stat ...
, an affiliate station of the
Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
*
West Digital Television West Digital Television is an Australian digital television network jointly owned by Seven West Media and WIN Corporation. It broadcasts free-to-air on a number of digital terrestrial transmitters in regional and remote areas of Western Aust ...
, an affiliate station of the
Network 10 Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK & Australia division and is one of the five national free-to-a ...
(provided jointly by Seven West Media and WIN Television) The programming schedule is mainly the same as the Seven, Nine and Ten stations in Perth with variations for news bulletins, sport telecasts such as the
Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...
and
National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...
, children's and lifestyle programs and
infomercial An infomercial is a form of television commercial that resembles regular TV programming yet is intended to promote or sell a product, service or idea. It generally includes a toll-free telephone number or website. Most often used as a form of di ...
s. Seven produces a 30-minute regional news program each weeknight (broadcast from Bunbury) with a newsroom based in the town, covering the surrounding areas.


Newspapers

The local newspaper is ''The Pilbara News'' (owned by
Seven West Media Seven West Media Limited is an Australian ASX-listed media company. It is Australia's largest diversified media business, with an extensive presence in broadcast television, radio, print and online publishing. Seven West Media owns the Seve ...
, publisher of ''The West Australian''). An independent local newspaper, which included classifieds, ''The Pilbara Echo'', closed in April 2014. Newspapers from Perth including ''
The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...
'' and ''
The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' are also available, as well as national newspapers such as ''
The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...
'' and ''
The Australian Financial Review The ''Australian Financial Review'' (''AFR'') is an Australian compact daily newspaper with a focus on business, politics and economic affairs. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and has been published continuously since its foun ...
''.


Sport

The North Pilbara Football League is an
Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...
league with six teams: Karratha Kats, Karratha Falcons, Dampier Sharks, Wickham Wolves, Port Hedland Rovers and South Hedland Swans. The Pilbara Rugby League has six teams: Karratha Stormers, Karratha Broncos, Karratha Roosters, Port Hedland Juniors, South Hedland Cougars and Wickham Wasps. Soccer has five teams: Bulgarra Glory, Karratha Snow Whites, Nickol, Dampier Red Dogs and Salt. West Pilbara Cricket Association has six teams: Karratha Kats, Baynton Lions, Rec Club, Dampier Taverners, Wickham Wallabies and
Pegs Creek Crabs Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School (abbreviated as PEGS) is a multi-campus independent Uniting Church comprehensive co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day school, with three campuses located in Melbourne, Victoria, Austr ...
. The Karratha Netball Association runs junior and senior competitions with nine participating clubs: Karratha Kats, Karratha Falcons, Dampier Sharks, Blades, Burrup Flames, Karratha Cougars, Tequiras, Karratha Thunderbolts and Wickham Junior Netball Club.


References


External links


Map of Karratha
{{Authority control Port cities and towns of the Indian Ocean Port cities in Western Australia Mining towns in Western Australia City of Karratha