Dampier

Port town in the northwest of Western Australia, 1,555 km/966 mi north of Perth; population (1996) 1,400. Current industries include iron ore, salt, gas, oil, and transport. In 1969 the Dampier Salt Project was established with large evaporation ponds on the tidal flats near the town. The first shipment of salt left in 1972. Since 1982, Dampier has also provided port, infrastructure, and service facilities for nearby offshore gas and oil projects.

The town was named after William Dampier, who explored parts of the Western Australian coast in 1699. Dampier was built in 1965 by the Hammersley Iron company as a port for its iron ore mines in Tom Price. A railway between Tom Price and Dampier was completed in 1966. An iron ore pelletizing plant operated in the town between 1968 and 1980. The port was dredged in 1969 to allow for 100,000-tonne ore carriers. In 1972 a railway linking Dampier to iron ore mines in Paraburdoo was opened.