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Port Hedland lays 1761km from Perth via the North West Coastal Highway or 1600km via the Great Northern Highway.
| Port Hedland Hotels Cars Tour Specials | |
Since the 1960s, Port Hedland has been the center of a thriving iron-ore industry; its natural harbour handles the largest tonnage of any Port in Australia. Its pristine beaches and mangroves are home to an abundance of fish and other wildlife.
Port Hedland lies on an inlet fringed with mangroves that are teeming with life; a number of hand-shaped tidal creeks come off its shallow natural harbour. The town is relaxed and open.
On the way into town, the 426km-long railway that was purpose-built to carry iron-ore from Newman one of the worlds biggest mining operations southeast of Port Hedland is visible by the side of the road.
The port handles the largest tonnage of any port in Australia and it is here that the iron-ore is unloaded, screened, crushed, stockpiled and conveyed out onto the pier for export. Huge iron-ore carriers frequent the port, exporting the iron-ore to Japan, Europe, China and South Korea.
| Port Hedland Salt Mountains | |
Huge pyramids of snow-white salt are stockpiled alongside the main road, solar-produced by the Leslie Salt Company in the area.
| Port Hedland Royal Flying Doctor Service | |
Other attractions around Port Hedland include the first Royal Flying Doctor Service base in Western Australia. Established in 1935, it is still in operation today. There are a number of excellent walking trails around town, visiting the impressive old buildings, along the coast and down to the harbour.
| Port Hedland Indigenous Peoples | |
Port Hedland was always a popular meeting place for Aborigines due to the large amounts of wildlife in the ocean, tidal creeks and mangroves.
Port Hedland is an anglers paradise. A wide variety of fish such as bream, whiting, mullet, kingfish and skippy can be caught in a number of habitats. A large population of juicy mud crabs live in the dense mangroves vegetated with samphires and other salt-tolerant plants.
Port Hedland marks the southwestern terminus of Eighty Mile Beach. This beach stretches some 80 miles along the West Australian coast up towards Broome; its brilliant aqua and azure waters meet stark white beaches.
| Point Samson and Dampier Archipelago | |
Further south of Port Hedland is Point Samson and the tropical islands of the Dampier Archipelago, both hot spots for game and recreational fishing.
Central Port Hedland North West WA - Western Australia
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Western Australia - Map of Port Hedland Australia
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