Newman, Western Australia
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (April 2008) |
| Newman Western Australia | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Newman residential area | |||||||||
| Population | 5,478 (2011 census)[1] | ||||||||
| Established | 1960s | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 6753 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 544 m (1,785 ft)[2] | ||||||||
| Location |
| ||||||||
| LGA(s) | Shire of East Pilbara | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | Pilbara | ||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Durack | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Newman is a town in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. It is located about 1,186 kilometres (737 mi) north of Perth, and 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north of the Tropic of Capricorn. It can be reached by the Great Northern Highway. In the 2006 Australian census, its population was 4,245.[4] Newman is a modern mining town, with homes contrasting with the surrounding reddish desert.
The Hickman Crater is 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Newman.
History
Newman sits on what was originally regarded as marginal cattle country. It was built in the 1960s by the Mount Newman Mining Company, following the discovery of rich iron deposits on nearby Mount Whaleback. The discovery marked the start of the resource boom in Western Australia in the 1970s. The town takes its name from nearby Mount Newman, named in honour of A.W. Newman, an early explorer who died of typhoid fever just before reaching the area in 1896.
Commercial area
Typical of company towns, Newman is laid out with a core, where shopping and hotels are located, surrounded by residential areas, with more industrial activities on the outskirts. There is one shopping mall in the town, two shopping plazas, three hotels, and three bars/restaurants outside of those contained in the hotels. One public outdoor pool serves the town's population.
Transport
A privately owned railway, the Mount Newman railway, was constructed linking it to Port Hedland which itself was upgraded to handle shipment of the ore to the world market. On 21 June 2001 a train 7.353 km (4.569 mi) long, comprising 682 ore cars and eight locomotives made the Newman—Port Hedland trip and is listed as the world's longest ever train.[5][6]
The ore trains are typically over 2 km long. Newman is also a service town to the nearby mining settlements like Tom Price and Paraburdoo.
The town is served by Newman Airport.
Architecture
Being founded in the 1960s, Newman's architecture reflects the modernist styles of that decade and the next, being predominantly functional and devoid of detail or embellishment. As the town was founded and built by a steel company, the majority of buildings use a steel frame construction. This applies to the homes themselves, most of them being two prefabricated halves inserted together into a steel I-section frame, the columns of which are left exposed on the exterior of the home. This construction method serves not only to showcase the company's product, but also gives strong resistance to cyclone winds which can affect the region from time to time. For this same reason, most houses are elevated from the ground by a few steps. Many houses also have large air-conditioning units situated next to them to provide adequate cooling against the very hot summer temperatures.
Climate
Newman has an arid climate, with very hot summers and mild winters. The temperature reaches or exceeds over 38 °C almost every day in the summer. On 15 January 1998, the temperature reached an all-time recorded high of 48.4 °C.
Precipitation is sparse, but the influx of monsoonal moisture in the summer, which generally begins in December and lasts until April, raises humidity levels and can cause occasional heavy storms. Winter months are mild to warm, with daily high temperatures ranging from the 20 °C to 26 °C (18-22 °C), and low (nighttime) temperatures rarely dipping below 6 °C.
| Climate data for Newman | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 48.4 (119.1) |
46.0 (114.8) |
43.3 (109.9) |
40.4 (104.7) |
35.2 (95.4) |
33.0 (91.4) |
31.0 (87.8) |
34.1 (93.4) |
38.0 (100.4) |
42.9 (109.2) |
43.9 (111.0) |
45.0 (113.0) |
48.4 (119.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 39.5 (103.1) |
37.2 (99.0) |
35.8 (96.4) |
31.6 (88.9) |
27.3 (81.1) |
22.9 (73.2) |
23.0 (73.4) |
25.8 (78.4) |
30.5 (86.9) |
35.0 (95.0) |
37.4 (99.3) |
38.9 (102.0) |
32.1 (89.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 25.3 (77.5) |
24.4 (75.9) |
22.4 (72.3) |
18.4 (65.1) |
13.0 (55.4) |
9.6 (49.3) |
8.1 (46.6) |
10.1 (50.2) |
13.7 (56.7) |
17.9 (64.2) |
21.4 (70.5) |
23.9 (75.0) |
17.3 (63.1) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 16.1 (61.0) |
17.0 (62.6) |
9.0 (48.2) |
6.0 (42.8) |
1.0 (33.8) |
−1.1 (30.0) |
−2.9 (26.8) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
1.0 (33.8) |
6.0 (42.8) |
11.8 (53.2) |
15.2 (59.4) |
−2.9 (26.8) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 57.2 (2.25) |
78.9 (3.11) |
41.7 (1.64) |
18.4 (0.72) |
18.5 (0.73) |
14.6 (0.57) |
15.1 (0.59) |
7.7 (0.30) |
3.4 (0.13) |
4.7 (0.19) |
10.5 (0.41) |
37.3 (1.47) |
312.0 (12.28) |
| Average precipitation days | 6.6 | 6.6 | 4.6 | 3.2 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 5.2 | 40.6 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 25 | 34 | 28 | 29 | 27 | 32 | 29 | 22 | 17 | 14 | 15 | 20 | 24 |
| Source: [7] | |||||||||||||
See also
References
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (31 October 2012). "Newman (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2011 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
- ^ Bureau of Meteorology
- ^ "Great Circle Distance between NEWMAN and MEEKATHARRA". Geoscience Australia. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
- ^ Australian Bureau of Statistics (25 October 2007). "Newman (Urban Centre/Locality)". 2006 Census QuickStats. Retrieved 22 October 2007.
- ^ Hamersley Freight Line, Australia railway-technology.com, accessed: 4 November 2010
- ^ BHP breaks its own heaviest train record Railway Gazette International, published: 1 August 2001, accessed: 5 November 2010
- ^ "BOM".
- ^ "BOM 2".
Further reading
- Austin, Noel (1999) The Newman story, 1967-1969. Publication details not known - held at Battye library, Perth, Western Australia
- DuBois, Lesley et al. (1994) Moving a mountain: an historic illustrated and photographic study of the town of Newman. Perth, Western Australia: L. DuBois
- Eckhart, Peter (1996) Whaleback tales. Carlisle, Western Australia: Hesperian Press. ISBN 0-85905-230-3
External links
Media related to Newman, Western Australia at Wikimedia Commons