Port and South Hedland are on the coast of
the Pilbara, 1800 km north of Perth. The town was named after Captain Peter
Hedland who discovered the harbour in 1829. They deal with the shipping end of
BHP's iron ore refining in the Pilbara, as well as the export of salt, felspar
and manganese. It is the 'town of the big ships' with ore carriers of over
220.000 tonnes being commonplace. The town has a population of about 18,000 at
present with more people arriving daily and is probably the fastest growing town
in W.A. This is causing stress on schools and facilities. The tunnel under the
harbour and the Direct Reduced Iron project are well under way. Port Hedland
celebrated its centenary during October 1996.
Two separate congregations exist with
services at St. Matthew's in Port Hedland and St. Peter's in South Hedland each
week.
The Ven. Bill and Mrs. Jocelyn Ross are
recycled Pilbarites and BCA members (Kununurra and Dampier 1970-80).
In 2006 they were joined by Philip and
Elke Knight, who are based at South Hedland.
