Karratha, Western Australia

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
Population17,013 (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
32.4 °C
90 °F
20.8 °C
69 °F
285.1 mm
11.2 in

Karratha is a city in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, adjoining the port of Dampier. It is located in the traditional lands and waters of the Ngarluma people, for whom it has been Ngurra (home/Country) for tens of thousands of years. It was established in 1968 to accommodate the processing and exportation workforce of the Hamersley Iron mining company and, in the 1980s, the petroleum and liquefied natural gas operations of the Woodside-operated North West Shelf Venture located on Murujuga. As of the 2021 census, Karratha had an urban population of 17,013.[1] The city's name comes from the cattle station of the same name, which derives from a word in a local Aboriginal language meaning "good country" or "soft earth".[2] More recently, Ngarluma people have indicated the name may actually relate to an early interpretation of "Gardarra", stemming from the sacred site for the whale, located in the Karratha area, called "Gardarrabuga". The city is the seat of government of the City of Karratha, a local government area covering the surrounding region.

  1. ^ a b 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.