Last swing (duration of time spent at mining camp working) I had the plessure of stopping off at Marble Bar to check out the sights on my way to Port Hedland.
There’s not too much to do at Marble Bar, established back in 1893 to support the mining boom, and it currently has a population of a couple of hundred. Its a typical Ozzie outback mining town, scorching sun, red sand and a pub (Ironclad Hotel which has been around since 1893) and that’s basically it. Its not really a town that you are drawn to, especially when its claim to fame is being ‘the hottest town in Australia. Its not really a holiday destination, “umm should we go to Hell or Marble Bar?” Read the following from the Australian Governments Bureau of Meteorology:
The world record for the longest sequence of days above 100°Fahrenheit (or 37.8° on the Celsius scale) is held by Marble Bar in the inland Pilbara district of Western Australia. The temperature, measured under standard exposure conditions, reached or exceeded the century mark every day from 31 October 1923 to 7 April 1924, a total of 160 days. Temperatures above 100°F are common in Marble Bar and indeed throughout a wide area of northwestern Australia. On average, Marble Bar experiences about 154 such days each year.
If your reading this and it sounds appealing, and maybe your thinking of buying real estate there-I’m sure its cheap- then take a look at my previous post I did on the climate up where I work, which is an hour and a half drive inland from Marble Bar.
Me with a Marble Bar.
The Largest Shire in the world (with bugger all in it)
Boody modeling the new sign.
My highlight of Marble Bar was the memorial in the main street dedicated to the early inhabitants, settlers, explorers, proscpectors and residents that had died in the East Pilbara region and had been buried in make-shift graves around the shire. It really gave you a feeling of what a rugged, savage and unforgiving (no air conditioning back then) place it must have been in its early days, with many of the early inhabitants cause of death being ‘speared’.
One of the plaques at the memorial was for Dr Ed Vines. Coincidently I had come accross his grave early in the year whilst taking a back road to our remote Ripon Hills Exploration camp.
Dr Vines story was that he was the 3rd or 4th Doctor stationed at Marble Bar and had made the journey out to Braeside Station 130km east of Marble Bar to assist in the birth of the station managers wife. He arrived 3 days prior to the birth but unfortunately got caught up in an early morning attack on the station by Aborigines. He was speared on the front verrandah where he died and was buried.
Checking out Dr Ed Vines headstone on the way to our remote exploration camp.
Dr Ed Vines headstone, “speared by natives, September 1899”
Memorial Plague erected in 1991. To me this sums up how the Aboriginals are treated, what would of been wrong by writing “killed by Aboriginals”.
ABC radio interview « Hap Working The World
Jan 8, 2009 -
[…] did a radio interview on ABC with Niki Morrell on her morning show. She had seen my blog post on Marble Bar and wanted to do a story on my […]
nubiong
Jul 7, 2011 -
It was great to see a part of WA where my Great Grandfather Herbert hodgson managed Braeside Station ‘ It was he and his foreman Beurteaux who burried Dr Vines. I am fortunate to have many b&w photos and the camera that Herbert used. A small slice of WA history.
Hap
Jul 10, 2011 -
WOW, thanks for the comment.
It really is a unique place out there, I can only imagine what it must been like back when your great grand father managed it. thanks again.
Hap
Chris Hodgson
Jan 13, 2015 -
Hi, my name is Chris Hodgson and I just learnt the other day that one of my grandfathers parents was from Marble bar, can you shed any light on the Hodgson history in Marble Bar ? My email is sscommy@gmail.com
Coincidentally I’ve just recently been working at the Mt Webber mine down the road from marble bar and also visited marble bat about two years ago and had no idea I had family ties.
Chris Hodgson
Jan 14, 2015 -
Hi, my name is Chris Hodgson, I’ve just recently been told by my grandmother that one of my late grandfathers parents was born in marble bar, fair chance there’s a connection, if you can shed light on details of the Hodgson family history in marble bar I’d be grateful.
My email address is sscommy@gmail.com
Leonie Musgrave
Oct 23, 2014 -
Can anyone tell me if Braeside ran sheep and if they did was there a shearing shed. Visited the old homestead on our way to the Gibb River in June with Ian Elliott who follows Frank Hann routes. Frank stayed at Braeside a number of times on his exploration of the area. Thanks for your help, Leonie.