Dampier

Dampier is a major industrial port in the Pilbara region in the northwest of Western Australia.

Dampier is a major industrial port in the Pilbara region in the northwest of Western Australia. It is located near the city of Karratha and Port Walcott.Dampier Port is part of the Dampier Archipelago and is primarily a port for the export of iron ore from Rio Tinto mines, LNG and salt. The port services petrochemical, salt, iron ore and natural gas export industries. Rio Tinto exports large volumes of iron ore, especially Pilbara blend through the port, and in September 2010 announced plans to expand capacity. At the 2011 census, Dampier had a population of 1,341.

The Yaburrara Aboriginal tribe lived in the area for many thousands of years.The town derives its name from its location on Dampier Island 3 km off the Pilbara Coast and part of the Dampier Archipelago, both named after the English navigator William Dampier. In 1963, the island became an artificial peninsula when it was connected to the mainland by a causeway for a road and railway. In 1979, Dampier Peninsular was renamed after Mt Burrup, the highest peak on the island, which had been named after Henry Burrup, a Union Bank clerk murdered in 1885 at Roebourne.In 1699, Dampier, in command of the 26-gun warship HMS Roebuck on a mission to explore the coast of New Holland, following the Dutch route to the Indies, passed between Dirk Hartog Island and the Western Australian mainland into what he called Shark Bay. He then followed the coast northeast, on 21 August 1699, reaching the Dampier Archipelago, which he explored, naming Rosemary Island. He continued to Lagrange Bay, just south of what is now Roebuck Bay, before sailing for Timor.The town was built from 1965 onwards, to serve the railway transporting iron ore from Tom Price and Paraburdoo. By 1968, the further expansion of Dampier had been constrained by geographical factors and a new town of Karratha was established on the mainland as a result.

Under the Köppen climate classification, Dampier has a desert climate (BWh). The annual average rainfall is 272.2 millimetres (10.7 in), which would make it a semi-arid climate, except, like Alice Springs, its high evapotranspiration (or its aridity) makes it a desert climate. Dampier has extremely hot and humid summers with dewpoints exceeding 24 °C (75 °F). Having over 3,700 hours of annual sunshine, it is one of the most sunniest places in Australia and in the world; its sunshine hours approach those of Aswan in Egypt.

At the entrance to the town is a statue of "Red Dog", a red kelpie/cattledog well known for roaming the area in the 1970s and hitching rides to nearby towns. The statue reads "Erected by the many friends made during his travels". Other attractions include the fishing not far off the coast, the most commonly targeted species being barramundi (Lates calcarifer).