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Port Hedland
Western Australia, Australia

Port Hedland

Western Australia, Australia

Port Hedland, town and port, northwestern Western Australia. It lies on the Indian Ocean on the North West Coastal Highway.


After 1964, with the development of iron ore deposits in the Hamersley Range to the southwest, Port Hedland became one of the state’s most active ports. A series of dredging operations were undertaken to increase the port’s capacity, and wharves were extended; eventually, the port was capable of handling ore carriers of 260,000 tons. After exhausting the island’s space, the community began expanding onto the mainland. Private railways bring iron ore to the port from Newman and Shay Gap, in the interior, and by the 1980s about 35 million tons of iron ore were being exported annually through Port Hedland. Evaporation works produce salt for export. Pop. (2006) local government area, 11,959; (2011) local government area, 15,044.

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