The City of Karratha has put forward a proposal to the Local Government Advisory Board that has been subsequently supported by the Minister for Local Government to abolish the existing ward system and have one single district where Council representatives represent the whole of the district. This will take effect as from 21 October 2023. Additionally, representation will reduce to meet statutory limits with Council membership reducing from 11 to 10 from the 2023 elections and then a further reduction by one to 9 from the 2025 elections.
As it stands currently, the City is a district divided into three wards, with 11 council members representing their ward constituents and the district as a whole. Â
The existing ward system comprises of:
- Dampier Ward – one councillor representative
- Karratha Ward – eight councillor representatives
- Wickham/Point Samson/Roebourne/Cossack/Pastoral Ward – two councillor representatives.Â
Dampier Ward
The Dampier Ward incorporates the island of Dampier and Burrup, the islands of the Dampier Archipelago and Rio Tinto salt farms adjacent to the causeway linking to the mainland. Â
Dampier is an island joined by a causeway to the mainland via Dampier Highway. Located 21 kilometres north-west of Karratha, on the north-west coastline of the City and south of the Burrup Peninsula and the Dampier Archipelago. Dampier is geographically setup as the gateway to major industry and tourism opportunities located on the Burrup Peninsula (such as the Aboriginal rock art) and provides access to the 42 islands of the Dampier Archipelago. The settlement is physically constrained by its surrounding coastal landscape and industrial development.
History of Ward: unknown. Existed before 2000. Likely to have existed since the 1960s or 70s.Â
Karratha Ward
Karratha Ward is predominantly the built up residential and commercial, light industrial areas including and surrounding the township of Karratha. Â
Karratha is located between the coastline of Nickol Bay and the North West Coastal Highway and to the south east of the Burrup Peninsula. Karratha Road and Madigan Road run north from the North West Coastal Highway to provide access to the Karratha town centre. Karratha can also be accessed from Dampier via Dampier Highway. The town centre of Karratha is located approximately 14 kilometres driving distance south east of the Karratha Airport. Karratha extends to the coastal mangroves at its north east and borders to the Karratha Hills to the south.
History of Ward: unknown. Existed before 2000. Likely to have existed since the 1970s.Â
Wickham-Point Samson-Roebourne-Cossack-Pastoral WardÂ
Wickham-Point Samson-Roebourne-Cossack-Pastoral Ward includes the rural and pastoral areas of the district, and the townships of Roebourne, Cossack, Wickham and Point Samson (evident by the name of the ward).Â
Wickham by road is located 8.4kms from Point Samson, 8.5kms from Cossack, 13 kilometres north of Roebourne and about 50 kilometres north east of Karratha. Wickham is located inland from the coast and is accessed via Point Samson-Roebourne Road, which connects to the North West Coastal Highway at Roebourne. The main road through the town centre is Wickham Drive. Â
Point Samson by road is located 8.4kms from Wickham, 15kms from Cossack, approximately 18 kilometres north of Roebourne and 57 kilometres north east of Karratha and is at the eastern tip of the Dampier Archipelago. Point Samson is located on the coast and provides operational and recreational maritime opportunities. Point Samson can be accessed by travelling north on the Point-Samson-Roebourne Road into the town centre. Â
Cossack by road is located 8.5kms from Wickham, 15kms from Point Samson, approximately 52 kilometres driving distance east of Karratha and 14 kilometres north east of Roebourne. It is situated on the coast at the mouth of the Harding River, to the south of Point Samson and east of Wickham. Cossack is built around tidal flats and is accessed by a single causeway road to the Point Samson-Roebourne Road.Â
Pastoral area is bounded by the Shire of Ashburton to the south and the Town of Port Hedland to the east. To the north and west is the Indian Ocean and the Dampier Archipelago. The majority of the land is pastoral or unallocated crown land and provides a boundary to the Millstream National Park to the south. Â
Roebourne is located on the banks of the Harding River approximately 40 kilometres by road east of Karratha and 13kms from Wickham. Roebourne is the only town within the City district that is situated directly on that national highway Route 1 - the North West Coastal Highway.
History: This ward was amalgamated from the pre-existing Wickham-Point Samson-Cossack Ward and the Roebourne-Pastoral Ward resulting from the City Council’s ward boundary review conducted in 2014. The Roebourne ward is likely to have existed as early as the 1960s but cannot substantiate this information.Â