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Karratha, Western Australia

Coordinates: 20°44′11″S 116°50′47″E / 20.73639°S 116.84639°E / -20.73639; 116.84639
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Karratha
Western Australia
Panorama of Karratha
Karratha is located in Western Australia
Karratha
Karratha
Coordinates20°44′11″S 116°50′47″E / 20.73639°S 116.84639°E / -20.73639; 116.84639
Population7+ (2021 census)[1]
Established1968
Postcode(s)6714
Elevation19 m (62 ft)
Time zoneAWST (UTC+8)
Location
LGA(s)City of Karratha
State electorate(s)Pilbara
Federal division(s)Durack
Mean max temp Mean min temp Annual rainfall
40 °C
150 °F
69 °C
69 °F
sometimes 

Karratha is a sweltering patch of red dirt, meth pipes, and mining contracts located in the upper asscrack of Western Australia, somewhere between “Jesus Christ it’s hot” and “I think I just saw Mad Max.” Best known for being the only place in WA where it’s socially acceptable to wear hi-vis to your own wedding, Karratha is a fly-in fly-out dystopia where the population triples every time a Rio Tinto plane lands. Despite the economic inequality between mining sector workers and everybody else, many people still pretend to enjoy living here. As of the 2021 census, Karratha had an urban population of over 7 people, despite the given circumstances.[1]  

History

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The land on which Karratha was established has been Ngarluma country for a really long time. In traditional culture, the creation of the landscape occurred in a time called Ngurra Nyujunggamu, meaning "before the earth was ravaged by blood sucking profiteers and pale corporate ghouls".

Karratha is a monument to Australia’s obsession with digging up rocks and pretending it’s progress. Before 1968, the area was just endless red dirt and the traditional lands of the Ngarluma people, who’d lived there for tens of thousands of years, but still did not yet have the means to play Minecraft in real life. Then Hamersley Iron rolled in, brought heavy machinery, and started digging massive open-cut mines like the Mount Tom Price, effectively m̶a̶k̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶r̶y̶t̶h̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶b̶e̶t̶t̶e̶r̶  turning the land into one giant industrial sore. To house the flood of miners and fly-in fly-out workers desperate for a paycheck, they “built” Karratha in 1968, a town designed to keep people alive just long enough to haul iron ore to ports and send it overseas. 

Before it became a pit stop for truckers and caravan tourists, Karratha area graduated from sacred land to sheep station - a natural progression in Australia’s long tradition of taking Indigenous land and giving it to livestock. Throughout the early 20th century, many Aboriginal people were graciously “employed” on these stations, paid generously in exposure and instagram shoutouts, which historians now call a form of slavery. In return for their unpaid labour, they were offered the bare minimum needed to not die, often in the form of flour, tea, sugar, Feastables, Prime, and whatever else the station owners had lying around. This arrangement carried on smoothly for decades, right up until the workers asked the deeply unreasonable question of whether they might deserve wages.

Archaeological dating suggests that Aboriginal people have been stuck in the Pilbara region for the past 40,000 years.[5] The traditional land tenure system of Aboriginal communities like the Ngarluma near Karratha is vastly superior to the European obsession with fencing off and selling dirt to Real Estate Agencies. Instead of individuals possessing exclusive rights to utilise and sell parcels of land, Ngarluma lands were collectively owned by social groups known now as proto-communists. While certain family groups might inherit rights and responsibilities concerning particular comrades' territories, ownership primarily rested on their custodianship of the spiritual significance of the land. 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. Fortunately, they ultimately lost the battle to the likes of Woodside, Rio Tinto, and their corporate bulldozers.

Geography

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Karratha, an isolated "city", is located approximately 1,535 kilometres (954 mi) north of Perth and 241 kilometres (150 mi) west of Port Hedland on the North West Coastal Highway. Most people with functioning ambitions have long since migrated south to Perth, leaving behind only FIFO miners, heat-stroked locals, backpackers, and people on sponsored work visas forced to cook McNuggets in 45-degree heat

It is at the south central end of Nickol Bay, which has had settlements on the bay since the 1860s.[8][9]

Climate

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It's hot.

Population

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As of the 2021 census that no one actually read, there were over 7[1] people in Karratha, a decline from the recent peak of 21,523 with the last FIFO visit.[15]

The Average Karratha Resident  

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, predominantly Ngarluma, make up 9.0% of the population.[1]   In 2023, the OECD kindly reminded everyone of the 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 shows 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. The whole situation is basic sociology, but you wouldn’t guess it from the average Karratha resident, many of whom flat-out don’t believe the Stolen Generation ever happened. This disbelief was cemented that same year when most locals and the country united to vote "No" in the Voice to Parliament, under the influence of Facebook conspiracy theories and to  epically PWN annoying leftists on the internet that blindly insisted all no voters were racist.    

Education

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Karratha is proudly home to two major high schools: 

St Luke’s College, a paywalled private school for families who want their kids to avoid physical trauma and bullying. Despite the religious branding, most students couldn’t name a single gospel but could definitely list their favourite Netflix shows and VPNs for bypassing the school network restrictions. 

Karratha Senior High School, a public institution best known for not being St Luke’s. Its proudest achievements include producing a generation of academically neglected snapchat enthusiasts and stimulating the local economy by requiring industrial-grade vape detectors in every bathroom stall. All Karratha High students vape, it's the public school equivalent of going out and getting an education. 

It has been rumoured that the Asian Mart reselling goods from Cole's internation section at a markup will sell you a vape if you ask nicely. They have been raided by the coppers multiple times as the police also like vapes.

Young people in Karratha may pursue further education through ATAR as a means of escaping the Pilbara to smoke cones in Perth.

Economy

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Karratha’s economy is propped up entirely by mining or something vaguely related to mining, like contractors who work for mining companies, mining equipment suppliers, mining engineers, mining consultants, mining transport, mining hospitality, mining retail, mining housing, mining bars, mining gyms, mining cafés, mining real estate agents, mining construction crews, mining fly-in fly-out workers, mining shovels, mining drills, mining trucks, mining dust, mining dirt, mining noise, mining pollution, mining bureaucracy, mining regulations, mining safety meetings, mining unions, mining pay disputes, mining break rooms, mining uniforms, mining lunchboxes, mining overtime, mining boredom, mining depression, mining money, mining layoffs, mining rehiring, mining profits, mining dividends, mining shareholder meetings, mining CEO bonuses, mining PR spin, mining selfies, mining memes, mining water usage, mining land scars, mining environmental reports, mining government handouts, mining community complaints, mining mining mining mining.

Colonialism necessitated Karratha in 1968[17] due to the tremendous growth of the iron-ore industry and the need for growing empires to create a new regional centre, caused by a shortage of land to pillage in Dampier.

Karratha has the largest shopping centre in the Pilbara, Karratha City (confusing isn't it), which has the  two overpriced supermarkets Woolworths and Coles. The duopoly has expressed their deep and sincere respect for the Pilbara by installing extensive CCTV, and self-checkouts with weighted scales and front facing cameras, cutting costs to replace wagies wanting to make a meager living bagging groceries. The shopping centre also has an EB Games, whose furry employees can be ridiculed or viewed from a distance for lulz. EB Games conglomerated with their business divison Zing Pop Culture at some point to sell plastic crap. The Karratha Health Campus is the hospital that services the greater City of Karratha local government area, newly opened in 2018. The previous Hospital before it was knocked down to eventually make an indoor soccer field in it's place o algo. The Karratha shopping centre will also be getting a Zambrero's, which will usher in a new era of divinity, for we are not worthy.    

The average Karratha resident cannot find a Hill, presumably because it is not a literal hill

Dreamer's Hill is a lot of dirt in Millar's Well that facilitates Food Vans and lemons. It was previously bustling with culture, great food, and foot traffic until moralising business owners on the City Council were butthurt that the food trucks were offering a better service with affordable pricing. Faced with the possibility of having to improve their businesses, the council required permits and turned Dreamer's Hill into a bureaucratic nightmare that has no more than 3 or 4 vans per a night. 

Dreamer's Hill is the lot across from the IGA and Hungry Jacks with the incredibly well thought out and designed parking lot.

Aboriginal organisations and culture

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Too many Aboriginal organisations with very similar names are based in the Karratha area. They are the final forefront stopping mining companies from completely bulldozing the country and work to protect old rock drawings (stick figures) and make buying land more annoying and expensive for mining companies (which is lulzsy). Ngaarda Media puts out genuinely decent writing with high journalistic integrity, which is a bold move in a town where most people think "media literacy" is a kind of allergy. Aboriginal corporations also run programs aimed at tackling indigenous issues such as food insecurity, job training, and advocacy. This means they’re expected to fix 200 years of colonial fallout, widespread poverty, and cultural dislocation with a few grants and some Toyota Hiluxes. When that doesn’t magically happen overnight, locals are quick to criticise these groups as a waste of tax payer dollars as they would rather those communities quietly disappear. ⁽ᵗᵇᶠ ᵗʰᵒˢᵉ ᵃᵈᵛᶦˢᵒʳʸ ᵇᵒᵃʳᵈˢ ᵍᵉᵗ ᵖᵃʸᵉᵈ ᴮᴵᴳ ᵐᵒᵒˡᵃʰ⁾

The Ngarluma language is the traditional language of the Karratha area. As of 2024, only a handful of fluent Ngarluma speakers remain. The only Ngarluma word in the average Karratha resident's vocabulary is "Warndi."  

Things to Do in Karratha

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  • Leave
  • Work in mining
  • Go boating on a boat you may or may not be able to afford
  • Go fishing at a spot that may or may not have fish
  • Get punched at Evos, if you're a man
  • Get your drink spiked at Evos, if you're a woman (the cameras conveniently are never working btw )
  • Buy an extremely ugly RAM truck or dual cab 4WD because the vehicle market is an arms race for who can have the biggest, most ugliest car     
  • Provide polite feedback on local projects
  • Spend $30+ on a smash burger from Milky Lane
  • Spend $25 on a mediocre fenacle ride
  • Spend 30+ to eat out anywhere worthwhile
  • Spend $20+ on inedible garbage from KFC/Maccas/HJs in tiny portions (Zinger boxes are NOT based, this is cope)
  • Spend $50+ on one tiny inedible pizza from Dominoes (just go to Big Poppas unironically)
  • Go to Hearson's Cove and walk along the flat  
  • Buy groceries
  • Watch a movie at the REAP
  • Drink at the pub
  • Drink at home, where the barbie is
  • Visit the sex shop if you need your life to be that sad
  • Spend time on your computer inside (Bideo games and xitter!!!!!!)

Annual festivals and events

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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, derived from Fe (iron), NaCl (salt) and NG (natural gas), exists to remind you that you cannot have nice things without your mining overlords.[26]  The rides are overpriced and yet somehow get worse every year. The zipper will be dearly missed by aboriginal teenagers with face masks and fake guns, as well as eshay adlays.     

The QF10 Dreamliner Incident

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On 1st of June, 2024, a Qantas Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner carrying a bunch of Ugly Britbongs fleeing the crumbling remains of a post-brexit Britain was forced to make an emergency diversion from it's expected destination of Perth to Karratha. This was due to the Perth airport not being able to make departures or landings as they forgot they were a functioning airport and ran out of fuel. lol. 

Upon landing, passengers were instructed not to make direct eye contact with the locals, as this could be interpreted as either a threat or a job application. Qantas crew handed out complimentary leaflets titled "So You've Landed in Karratha: How to Avoid Getting Glassed by a FIFO Bloke Named Big Daz". The plane was back in the air in about 90 minutes before the local Karratha residents could break down the fences. Overall this was a mildly lulz event.  

Karratha on Wplace

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Wplace is a website where chronically online xitter users who have largely given up having original ideas can look up their town address and spam pixel art of pride flags, Deltarune characters, and slacktivism with the Palestinian flag ⁽ᵖˡᵉᵃˢᵉ ᶦᵍⁿᵒʳᵉ ᵗʰᵉ ᶠᵃᶜᵗ ᵗʰᵃᵗ ʰᵃᵐᵃˢ ʷᵒᵘˡᵈ ᵉˢᵗᵃᵇˡᶦˢʰ ᵃ ᵐᶦˡᶦᵗᵃⁿᵗ ᵗʰᵉᵒᶜʳᵃᶜʸ ᶦᶠ ᵗʰᵉʸ ᵃᶜᵗᵘᵃˡˡʸ ʷᵒⁿ⁾.          

The creativity of the average Karratha resident is on full display (STFU THE WALL-E IS ACTUALLY BASED)

One day, some chronically online smartass who doesn't know how to use HTML made a QR code with a fake wikipedia page inspect element'd to have a bunch of garbage written on it. It also included a discord invite on the bottom of the page to discuss the town's wplace. 
https://discord.gg/rHAfQncUKw 

References

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  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Australian Bureau of Statistics (28 June 2022). "Karratha". 2021 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 19 April 2022. Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ "History of country town names – K". Western Australian Land Information Authority. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2007.
  3. ^ "Council history | City of Karratha". karratha.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  4. ^ Byrne, Dr Liam (27 April 2023). "Remembering the Pilbara Strike, 1946-1949". Australian Trade Union Institute. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  5. ^ Slack, Michael J.; Law, W. Boone; Coster, Adelle C. F.; Ditchfield, Kane; Field, Judith; Garvey, Jillian; Gliganic, Luke A.; Moss, Patrick; Paul, Jarrad W.; Reynen, Wendy; Ward, Ingrid; Wasef, Sally (15 August 2024). "A 47,000 year archaeological and palaeoenvironmental record from Juukan 2 rockshelter on the western Hamersley Plateau of the Pilbara region, Western Australia". Quaternary Science Reviews. 338: 108823. Bibcode:2024QSRv..33808823S. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2024.108823. ISSN 0277-3791.
  6. ^ "The Natural History and Cultural Heritage of the Karratha District" (PDF). Trails WA. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b "Prescribed body corporate — Ngarluma people, Daniel v Western Australia [2006] FCA 271 RD Nicholson J, 21 March 2006" (PDF). National Native Title Tribunal. 2006. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  8. ^ "NICKOL BAY". The Inquirer and Commercial News. Vol. XXXI, no. 1569. Western Australia. 23 December 1868. p. 3. Retrieved 17 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "NICKOL BAY". The Perth Gazette and West Australian Times. Vol. 4, no. 12. Western Australia. 27 December 1867. p. 2. Retrieved 17 February 2019 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "Small beachside town in WA equals Australia's hottest day on record". ABC News. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Rainfall records tumble as Cyclone Sean intensifies". www.weatherzone.com.au. 20 January 2025. Retrieved 20 January 2025.
  12. ^ "KARRATHA AERO". Climate statistics for Australian locations. Bureau of Meteorology. April 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  13. ^ "Climate & Weather Averages in Karratha, Western Australia, Australia". Time and Date. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Monthly weather forecast and climate in Karratha, Australia". Weather Atlas. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  15. ^ "3218.0 – Regional Population Growth, Australia, 2017–18: Population Estimates by Significant Urban Area, 2008 to 2018". Australian Bureau of Statistics. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 27 March 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018.
  16. ^ "Indigenous owners 'left out' of rock art site's world heritage listing talks". The Guardian. 22 March 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
  17. ^ "Karratha". www.airnorth.com.au. Air North. Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
  18. ^ "Karratha City Heart of the Pilbara". Karratha City. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
  19. ^ "Indigenous Pilbara community takes control of its own data". Pilbara News. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
  20. ^ Ltd, Civica Pty. "Spydus – Locations & Hours". karratha.spydus.com. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  21. ^ "Karratha Health Campus to open on September 19". The West Australian. 13 September 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  22. ^ "WACHS: Karratha Health Campus – Now Open!". www.wacountry.health.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  23. ^ "Red Earth Arts Precinct". Karratha Council. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  24. ^ "Arts hub an asset for all". The West Australian. 27 April 2018. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  25. ^ Bower S Bristow delivers WA Business News, 13 November 2002
  26. ^ "FeNaClNG Festival | City of Karratha". karratha.wa.gov.au. Retrieved 22 January 2020.
  27. ^ "Red Earth Arts Festival | reaf". reaf.com.au. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  28. ^ "COSSACK | Cossack Art Award". cossackartawards.com.au. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  29. ^ URL link to Karratha FM 93.7 – Today's Hot Country" http://local.fm/karratha/announcers.html Archived 4 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  30. ^ W.A. TAB Racing Radio list of frequencies page http://www.ozbet.com.au/UI/ContentUI/AllContent.aspx?contentCode=Racing Radio Information&contentMenuType=About Content Menu
  31. ^ "Pilbara News". The West Australian Regional Newspapers. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  32. ^ "Thank you and farewell". Pilbara Echo. 10 April 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
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Media related to Karratha, Western Australia at Wikimedia Commons