Museums and historic attractions

Museums and historic attractions of Karratha and the West Pilbara Coast tell the fascinating stories of a Western Australian (WA) region rich in Aboriginal and pioneering history.

The ancient landscape of WA’s West Pilbara Coast is a treasure trove of Aboriginal historic attractions, including over 40,000 rock engravings (petroglyphs). To find out more about Aboriginal tourism in the region, check out the Aboriginal art and culture page.

European history dates back to 1699, when William Dampier’s ship ‘The Roebuck’ laid anchor at Pirates Cove in the Dampier Archipelago, and is chronicled in many of the museums and historic attractions of Karratha and the West Pilbara Coast of WA. In particular, the townships of Roebourne (established in 1866) and Cossack (officially established in 1872) boast an impressive array of heritage architecture.

Cossack Heritage Town

Cossack Heritage Town features eight fully restored stone buildings dating between 1874 and 1895, all of which are listed by the National Trust.

  • Visit the restored courthouse (1895), now home to the Cossack Courthouse Museum. Its wide veranda and heavy pillars make it the most prominent building in this West Pilbara Coast town. The wonderful displays of local artefacts and memorabilia take you back beyond the turn of the century to a time of extreme hardship and pioneering spirit. Open daily. Gold coin donation entry.
  • Head for Pearl Street to discover the town’s first stone building, the Post and Telegraph Office (c.1884-85). Constructed using WA shell limestone, the lower floor of this historic attraction was originally used as the Customs House and the upper floor housed the Post Office.
  • Check out the Customs House (1895), which houses the Cossack Café and various displays representing life in this West Pilbara Coast town at the turn of the 20th century. The Identities pictorial display pays tribute to some of the earlier settlers, while the Customs, Police and Pearling Industry display illustrates the hardships endured in the early development of these services.
  • If you’re here for the annual Cossack Acquisitive Art Award, you’ll need to head for the Bond Store (1895). Like many of the buildings in the nearby town of Roebourne, it was designed by George Temple Poole using WA stone. Having survived many cyclones over the years, this historic attraction has served many purposes, once serving as a turtle soup factory.
  • Admire the Aboriginal artworks and artefacts of the Cheeditha Community, now displayed in the old Galbraith Store (1890) – Cossack's first building to be constructed from WA bluestone.
  • Take a walk down Perseverance Street to the fully restored Police Quarters and Gaol dating back to 1897.

Cossack’s European and Japanese cemeteries

In the 1870s, the area between the town and the cemetery was the winter home for the Asian pearl divers. It was subdivided into 'Chinatown', 'Japtown' and 'Malaytown', and even though there are no original buildings remaining, there is evidence that stores, tailors, bath houses and even brothels once operated here.

Two cemeteries, European and Japanese, located on the sand dunes on the edge of town are popular historic attractions among visitors to this region of WA. The Japanese cemetery is the resting place of Japanese pearl divers who were lost at sea or drowned while diving on the West Pilbara Coast. The European cemetery is the resting place of William Shakespeare Hall, one of the members of F.W. Gregory's party. Also laid to rest here is the 10 year old daughter of a local policeman, Laura Pearl, who died of tetanus after treading on a nail. Her tragic story is a stark reminder of the hardships of isolated life.

Roebourne’s Old Gaol Museum

Situated in the Law and Order Precinct on Roebourne’s Queen Street, the Old Gaol Museum tells the intriguing story of the West Pilbara Coast gaol and its convicted inhabitants. The cell blocks were built in 1896, most likely using prison labour, and it housed up to 40 prisoners at times, even though they were designed to accommodate only 14. Contact Roebourne Visitors Centre on 9182 1060 for opening times.

Whim Creek Hotel

A popular historic attraction of WA’s West Pilbara Coast, Whim Creek is the only remaining evidence of the once thriving town known as Whim Well. In its heyday, the town had several pubs, a post office, bakery, police station and a population of 400,130, many of whom worked in the town’s copper mine - once the biggest in the North West.

In earlier years the ore was carried 20 kilometres to the small port of Balla Balla on a railway line. Sails were attached to the loaded rail wagons, in order to use the trade winds. The jetty at Balla Balla was used until the decline of the copper mine in the 1930s, and was finally blown away by a cyclone in 1956. The mine operated until the 1960s, when it was finally abandoned. Whim creek is now home to Straits Resources and many old relics remain, including gold and ore wagons. To download a PDF brochure about Whim Creek, visit the Shire of Roebourne website.

Dampier Library

Head to Dampier Library, on High Street, and check out the collection of large Japanese dolls, originally sent to WA’s West Pilbara Coast as gifts to Pilbara Iron. For opening times, call the library on +61 8 9183 1562.

Karratha Local History Office

Situated at the rear of the Karratha Community Library, on Dampier Highway, the Karratha Local History Office boasts a comprehensive working collection containing maps, plans, documents, photographs, newspapers, ephemera and oral history recordings. Open 10am - 2pm, Monday to Friday. Call +61 8 9185 2553 for further details.

For more information about the history, historic attractions and museums of Karratha and WA’s West Pilbara Coast visit the Shire of Roebourne website.

Some information presented in this website has been sourced, with permission, from the Shire of Roebourne website.