Type: | town |
Carnarvon | |
State: | wa |
Coordinates: | -24.8672°N 113.6611°W |
Pop: | 4,879 |
Established: | 1883 |
Postcode: | 6701 |
Elevation: | 4 |
Dist1: | 906 |
Dir1: | NW |
Location1: | Perth |
Dist2: | 477 |
Dir2: | N |
Location2: | Geraldton |
Dist3: | 646 |
Dir3: | SW |
Location3: | Karratha |
Lga: | Shire of Carnarvon |
Stategov: | North West Central |
Fedgov: | Durack |
Maxtemp: | 27.2 |
Mintemp: | 17.2 |
Rainfall: | 226.6 |
Carnarvon is a coastal town situated approximately 900km (600miles) north of Perth, in Western Australia. It lies at the mouth of the Gascoyne River on the Indian Ocean. The popular Shark Bay world heritage area lies to the south of the town and the Ningaloo Reef and the popular tourist town of Exmouth lie to the north. Mungullah Aboriginal Community was formerly in the town however it has moved east of the town.
Inland, Carnarvon has strong links with the town of Gascoyne Junction and the Burringurrah Community. At the 2021 census, Carnarvon had a population of 4,879.
The Inggarda people are the traditional owners of the region around Carnarvon. Before European settlement the place now called Carnarvon, located at the mouth of the Gascoyne River, was known as wbv |Kuwinywardu which means 'neck of water'.[1] Indigenous Australians associating with the Carnarvon area typically associate as being Yamatji, traditionally speaking the Wajarri language.
The town was founded in 1883, initially as a port and supply centre for the surrounding region, and is the administrative centre for the Shire of Carnarvon. The town site was officially gazetted on 4 June 1891, named after Henry Herbert, 4th Earl of Carnarvon, a past Secretary of State for the Colonies.
The carnarvon Jetty was built in the late 1890s and had reached its maximum length in 1904.[2] In 2021, it was destroyed by Cyclone Seroja.[3]
Carnarvon has had three tramways.[4] [5]
The Carnarvon Light Railway Association operated trains along restored tracks on the jetty; however, due to unsafe conditions the jetty was closed to the public. In 2021 it was destroyed by Cyclone Seroja.
From 1964 to 1965, 12 sounding rockets were launched from Carnarvon to a maximum altitude of .[6]
During the 1960s, NASA set up a tracking station nearby to support the Gemini and Apollo space programs. The tracking station was closed in the mid-1970s. Only the foundations of the historical site remain. The site is adjacent to the OTC Satellite Earth Station Carnarvon.
On 20 May 1988, the bulk carrier ran aground in bad weather near Cape Cuvier, within the port limits of Carnarvon.[7] Around 600t of fuel oil were spilled into the ocean. Damage was limited to 10km (10miles) of remote beaches and coastline. The ship was not salvaged and left grounded; however, very little of the wreck remains to be seen.
Main economic activities of the Gascoyne region include:
Radio Australia had a shortwave relay station (built during the 1970s) that used to relay programming to Europe, South Asia and Southeast Asia.
There are five schools in the town; one Catholic, three Western Australia Department of Education schools and one independent. These are St Mary's Star of the Sea Catholic School, which was built in 1906, Carnarvon Community College (formerly Carnarvon Primary School, East Carnarvon Primary School, and Carnarvon Senior High School), Carnarvon School of the Air and Carnarvon Christian School.
Carnarvon has a warm arid climate (BWh). Average yearly rainfall is 226mm with the rainiest months (and the most reliable rainfall) being between May and July as the northern edges of winter cold fronts brush the region. Occasional tropical cyclones affect Carnarvon during the summer months bringing heavy rain and strong winds. Apart from this erratic source of rainfall summers are normally dry. Temperatures range from an average maximum of in February to in July. Average minimums are and respectively. On 18 February 2024, Carnarvon recorded its highest ever temperature of . The town is extremely sunny, having 211.0 clear days annually.