Port Hedland and requested the Government to build a jetty.
Mining
Goldsworthy Mining developed an iron ore mine approximately 100 kilometres east of Port Hedland in the early 1960s and built the towns of Goldsworthy and later Shay Gap as mine sites. A rail line was then built to Port Hedland where dredging was undertaken to deepen and widen the port's channel and a wharf was built opposite the township of Port Hedland on Finucane Island. Shipment of ore began on 27 May 1966 when the Harvey S Mudd sailed from Port Hedland to Japan with 24,900 tonnes of ore.
In 1967 iron ore was discovered at Mount Whaleback and a mining venture was undertaken that included the establishment of a new town, Newman, 426 km of rail from the mine to the port and the development of processing equipment at both Newman and Port Hedland. In 1986, at a cost of $87 million, the existing channel was dredged to allow the port to increase the tonnage of those ships able to enter the port. Prior to dredging the port was only able to load vessels less than 2,000 tonnes but today it is able to accommodate ships over 250,000 tonnes.
1968 plane crash
On 31 December 1968, a Vickers Viscount operated by MacRobertson Miller Airlines crashed at nearby Indee Station. The plane had flown from Perth to Port Hedland without incident until about 10 minutes before landing it suffered a catastrophic right hand spar failure with the wing separating from the fuselage. All 26 on board, including the pilot, a first officer and two flight attendants were killed.
Immigration detention facility
In 1991, an immigration detention facility was opened at Port Hedland to deal with the arrival of boat people seeking asylum. Port Hedland was seen as a good location as it is in an area where many illegal boat people were entering Australia, and had an international airport that would allow for easy deportations when required. The Detention Centre was
