Roebourne

Our plan was to reach Karratha after leaving Sandfire Roadhouse, however a small town with a history named Roebourne drew us in and we have spent two nights here. It’s a town with a sad history. In the late 1800’s the goal had housed recaptured runaway aborigines who had fled the pastoral stations where they were forced to work, it stands testimony to the harsh treatment these unfortunate men suffered at the hands of the police of that time. That goal is now the visitor centre, the town of Roebourne is an indigenous one. It’s very rundown, but some of the buildings are well preserved in stone. There is a small hospital, also a “sobering up centre”, well signed. Even though the pub hasn’t been in operation for many years, liquor can still be bought and is the downfall of the aborigines. A small supermarket is the only other business open besides an indigenous art gallery.

Our caravan park is a klm out of town, nearby towns are newer and close to the sea. Rio Tinto runs their Cape Lambert iron ore operations out of Cape Lambert, they have poured a lot of money into the infrastructure of Wickham, which boasts a school, a few shops and plans to reopen the high school, although it has been shut for a few years.

John and I did a tour out to the iron ore facility today. Rio Tinto are building a new wharf to increase the loading of the ore onto the ships. It’s a big concern, making for a lot of manpower and employment. We saw at least nine iron ore ships waiting to dock to load the ore for China and Japan. Our guide was very imformative, I came away with more understanding of one of our biggest export industries.

Our tour included Cossack, an old sea side town, where only the stone buildings are left standing, the wooden ones blown away in cyclones over the years. We had lunch at a café housed in one of these beautiful stone buildings right on the water. Cossack has a pearling and gold history, an ongoing historical restoration is keeping the stories alive. Our guide drove us to several pretty lookouts and told us the best spots to catch mud crabs and fish. \the tour cost $20 each and it was worth every cent.

We are moving on tomorrow to Karratha and Dampier, a short hike of about thirty klms.

We had to wear head gear and glasses.

                                            Looking over to Jarmen Island

                                           John dwarfed by a big truck, now out of action in a park

                                          The wharf at the Rio Tinto facility.