Shifting the heart of a historic port town

WESTERN Australia has a history of shunting towns up the road.

When ship loading became troublesome at the Ashburton River mouth in 1925, the entire town of Onslow was loaded on camel and cart and dragged 18 kilometres east to Beadon Point.

In 1955, the people of Halls Creek decided they wanted to be closer to the airport built seven years prior, and so moved the town 15 kilometres west.

And when fire torched Jarrahdale in 1895, the timber town was shunted west to its current location, where it was gazetted in 1913.

While Port Hedland isn’t quite going as far as those examples, the town’s heart is in the midst of a major shift that is uprooting 125 years of history to ensure its future.

The Town of Port Hedland has for some time been working on a plan to shift the focal point of the community by 15km, from the historic west end inland to South Hedland.

In reality, South has been the community centrepiece for the best part of the decade: it has been the main shopping precinct, hosts the bulk of the town’s population and most of its government services.

But uncoupling from a historic heart is difficult.

The town’s civic centre is still in Port and its main dining and recreation activities are all based on or near the dust-covered streets in the shadow of the world’s largest bulk export port.

It is the port that gave rise to Hedland but has now necessitated the move, both due to land constraints and major problems with iron ore dust.

A film of dust will settle on a car parked in Port Hedland’s west end in the time it takes to drink a coffee and the town’s bold iron ore pigeons – so named because they are permanently covered in a thick slick of red dirt – have become known among locals for nicking chips from diners at Dome.

In 2021, the Town of Port Hedland backed plans to move its civic centre – currently overlooking the foreshore – to South Hedland.

That move would follow a common government tactic to use the weight of its own workforce or buying power to push for change.

“We have staff scattered all over South and Port Hedland,” Town of Port Hedland Mayor Peter Carter said.

“The town will take over the old TAFE site, I believe at the end of the year, and we are going to look at actually repurposing that whole site.

“Having two hundred to three hundred staff in one location will boost South Hedland up quite a lot.”

The move will add to a growing central community in South Hedland, which is on the cusp of major residential growth led by a new 400-room apartment and retail complex dubbed Azzura Square, the first stage of which was approved earlier this year.

There are big plans written through the pages of local government agendas for South Hedland.

They include the South Hedland Integrated Sports Hub and a major placemaking redevelopment for the town centre slated for 2025, and construction of the civic and community hub due to begin next year.

“That’s where the growth is for the town, out there that will grow substantially over the next five to ten years,” Mr Carter said.

“We need to encourage people to come out there and … have restaurants and dining.”

Port’s next iteration

Moving Hedland’s focus south does not mean its heritage heart will be relegated to history.

A $10 million community centre at the racecourse was opened in May and work is progressing on the $187.5 million Spoilbank Marina, which is due to open in late 2024.

The marina will include community and recreation space and has been touted as a major drawcard for residents and tourists.

Prendiville-owned Hedland Hotel in August opened its new Palm Springs-inspired diner overlooking Cemetery Beach to rave reviews, and a native food pop-up restaurant will return to Marapikurrinya Park next year.

“Hopefully, we’ll get some land developed in around Cooke Point peripheral area or Styles Road,” Mr Carter said.

“But the cost of doing landfill is just not cost effective. So South Hedland, that is where the growth will be.

“I think [Port] will become more of a commercial hub to have your hotels and so forth, but people living in the area, that will all change.

“When they have finished all the renovations [at Hedland Hotel] that will be a real icon it is one of the most popular places to go on a Sunday afternoon, watch a sunset, and the turtles are nearby as well.”

The Hedland Maritime Initiative’s long-term plan is to turn the west end into a precinct blending training, tourism, heritage, culture and retail, enabled by a voluntary buyback of homes in the port’s dust impact zone.

As of October 27, the buyback had acquired 60 per cent of west end homes, and the state government has extended the scheme for a further two years.

“Port Hedland is a vibrant town with a diversified economy,” Pilbara MLA Kevin Michel said when the two-year extension was announced.

“The buyback scheme is helping to create an exciting new precinct in conjunction with the $180 million Spoilbank Marina project.

“This will be transformational for both the town and the greater Pilbara region.”

As the buyback progresses, the state government is moving ahead with structure planning and a $22 million fund to facilitate development of the maritime precinct.

That project will be steered by Pilbara Ports, the Town, and the Port Hedland Industries Council.