Rell01

Day 23

A warmer morning this morning coming out of the colder weather. So a good nights camp on the river crossing where the road trains cross about ever 15min. I only heard a couple during the night so I must have slept well. Today is off to Marble Bar for smoko and then followed up with a drive to Eighty Mile Beach. So talk soon.
Well we headed off a little late and it was a straight run into Marble bar. Got there and stopped at the information area. Had a chat with a view people or Rell did anyway and then a quite look around town at the older sandstone buildings. Then it was time to fill up with fuel and we headed back to the bakery to pickup an apricot roll and lamington. From here we headed out to Chinaman Pool for smoko. Beautiful grasses are and a couple of tables and chairs with a few other people around. Then a look at Marble Bar Pool before heading off. This time we decided to head to Pardoo roadhouse and stay the night. Shorter distance and only $30/night. On the way dirt road again we past another Aboriginal community and then onto Carleecarleethong pool for lunch. This was a beautiful camping spot. Green grass on the riverbank overlooking the water. From here we made our way to an abandoned town Goldsworthy. Looks like an old mining town, but nothing there anymore except the signs of mining. From here a shortcut to the Hwy and onto Pardoo roadhouse. In the middle of nowhere but it had green grass and showers. This is heaven, dinner in the roadhouse set it off well. Forward to Eighty Mile Beach tomorrow.

Marble Bar has been described as "the centre of the Pilbara back in the early 1900s".[3] The town predates Port Hedland, Newman, and Karratha.[3]
It was gazetted in 1893 following the discovery of gold in the area in 1890 by a prospector named Francis Jenkins who is remembered by the name of the town's main street.[4] The name Marble Bar was derived from a nearby jasper bar mistaken for marble and now known as Marble Bar, which runs across the bed of the Coongan River.[4]
In 1891 the town boasted a population in excess of 5,000 as it experienced a rush on the goldfields.[5] Several large gold nuggets were discovered as a result of the goldrush. The 333 ounce Little Hero nugget,[6] the 413 ounce Bobby Dazzler and the 332 ounce General Gordon nugget were all found in the goldfields around the town.[7]
By 1895 the town had its Government offices built; these are now National Trust buildings.[citation needed] Cut from local stone, the buildings still stand today.[citation needed] The town's Ironclad Hotel was built in the 1890s, and has been listed on the Western Australian register of heritage places since 2006.[8] It is constructed of corrugated iron, and was given its name by American miners who were reminded of the Ironclad ships from the United States.[citation needed]
A Telegraph line was proposed during discussion of the Estimates in January 1893 to link Condon to Marble Bar.[citation needed] After approval, many basic administrative errors delayed or interrupted construction of the line to an area in which very significant gold finds were being mined.[citation needed] These mines needed communication with other centres – including to England.[citation needed] Finally the line was completed at the end of July 1894 - to the satisfaction of an increasingly irate community.[citation needed] A Post and Telegraph Office was opened on 25 August 1894.[9]
During World War II, United States Army Air Forces and Royal Australian Air Force heavy bombers were based 25 kilometres (16 mi) away as the crow flies at Corunna Downs Airfield.[citation needed] Allied airmen from the base attacked Japanese forces as far away as Borneo.[citation needed]
The Port Hedland to Marble Bar Railway opened on 15 July 1911, costing around £300,000 to build.[10][11] Due to low traffic and high financial losses, the railway closed from 31 May 1951.[12] This railway could be seen as a narrow gauge precursor to the network of standard gauge iron-ore railways that have since been created across the Pilbara.[citation needed]Read more