Port Hedland Hotels

Port Hedland is the highest tonnage port in Australia and largest town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with a population of approximately 14,000 (this includes its satellite suburb South Hedland, 18 km away). Port Hedland is a natural deep anchorage port which, as well as being the main fuel and container receival point for the region, was seen as perfect for shipment of the iron ore being mined in the ranges located inland from the town. The ore is moved by railway lines from four major iron ore deposits to the east and south of Port Hedland area. Other major resource activities supported include the offshore Natural gas fields, salt, manganese, and livestock. Grazing of cattle and sheep was formerly a major revenue earner for the region but this has slowly declined. Port Hedland was formerly the terminus for the WAGR Marble Bar Railway which serviced the gold mining area of Marble Bar. The industrious town of Port Hedland, with its low-rise corrugated buildings and fibro houses, is caked in dark red dirt. Its massive dock handles the iron-ore mined at Newman and exports more tonnage than any other Australian port. It’s the stockpiles of ore dominating the skyline that are the source of that layer of dust that coats the town. In 1991 an immigration detention facility was opened at Port Hedland to deal with the arrival of boat people seeking asylum. Port Hedland was seen as a good location as it is in an area where many illegal boat people were entering Australia, and had an international airport that would allow for easy deportations when required. The Detention Centre was privatised by the Howard Government in the late 1990s. The centre was closed in 2004 due to the falling numbers of asylum seekers arriving by boat to Australia's northwest.