Black rocks: a new port for the West Kimberley

Abstract

At the end of World War II, the Government of Western Australia formulated a policy to relocate the port of Derby to a deep water site at Black Rocks, thirty kilometres north. Moving the port would allow shipping to avoid navigational hazards, first identified in 1883, and facilitate overseas vessels trading through the port. The policy included construction of a new town and jetty and a meatworks to serve the West Kimberley pastoral industry