Newman Attractions

Thanks to large-scale irrigation and planting schemes Newman (pop. 5470), which lies in the interior of the Pilbara region, is like a green oasis in the bare and arid surrounding area. Its economy is based on the mining of iron ore. The iron ore extracted on Mount Whaleback, the world's largest opencast iron mine, and on other sites in the area is transported on a private railroad line to Port Hedland (422km north) for shipment. With the asphalting of the Great Northern Highway and the improvement of its tourist facilities Newman has become a popular stopover on the road to the north. The new course of the road between Newman and Port Hedland runs to the west of the old unsurfaced track via Nullagine and Marble Bar.

In addition to the opencast iron mine on Mount Whaleback (conducted tours by appointment) the main attractions of Newman are the Radio Hill Lookout, the Ophthalmia Dam (good for swimming and picnics) and the town's mining and pastoral museum.