Marble Bar

History

Marble Bar has been described as "the centre of the Pilbara back in the early 1900s". The town predates Port Hedland, Newman, and Karratha. The name Marble Bar was derived from a nearby jasper bar mistaken for marble and now known as Marble Bar, which runs across the bed of the Coongan River. Several large gold nuggets were discovered as a result of the goldrush. The 333 ounce Little Hero nugget, the 413 ounce Bobby Dazzler and the 332 ounce General Gordon nugget were all found in the goldfields around the town. By 1895, the town had its Government offices built; these are now National Trust buildings. Cut from local stone, the buildings still stand today. The town's Ironclad Hotel was built in the 1890s, and has been listed on the Western Australian register of heritage places since 2006. It is constructed of corrugated iron, and was given its name by American miners who were reminded of the ironclad ships of the United States navy. A telegraph line was proposed during discussion of the Estimates in January 1893 to link Condon to Marble Bar. After approval, many basic administrative errors delayed or interrupted construction of the line to an area in which very significant gold finds were being mined. These mines needed communication with other centres – including to England. Finally the line was completed at the end of July 1894 - to the satisfaction of an increasingly irate community. A Post and Telegraph Office was opened on 25 August 1894. During World War II, United States Army Air Forces and Royal Australian Air Force heavy bombers were based away as the crow flies at Corunna Downs Airfield. Allied airmen from the base attacked Japanese forces as far away as Borneo. The Port Hedland to Marble Bar Railway opened on 15 July 1911, costing around £300,000 to…

Most-observed species

• Magpie-lark

  Grallina cyanoleuca (Latham, 1802) · Aves
  83
• Little Corella

  Cacatua sanguinea Gould, 1843 · Aves
  77
• White-plumed Honeyeater

  Ptilotula penicillata (Gould, 1837) · Aves
  58
• Gray Teal

  Anas gracilis Buller, 1869 · Aves
  55
• Zebra Finch

  Taeniopygia guttata (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  53
• Rainbow Bee-eater

  Merops ornatus Latham, 1801 · Aves
  51
• Galah

  Eolophus roseicapilla (Vieillot, 1817) · Aves
  50
• Masked Lapwing

  Vanellus miles (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  48

Most recent

• M 4.3 — 2021-12-09
  45 km N of Nullagine, Australia
• M 5.3 — 2021-11-13
  27 km NNE of Marble Bar, Australia
• M 4.6 — 2019-08-12
  64 km NE of Nullagine, Australia
• M 4 — 2011-07-14
  72 km ENE of Marble Bar, Australia