Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Life on the Mines
The source of the state's affluence remains outside many travellers' field of view. Take the
Pilbara gold-mining town of Telfer, for instance, considered the most remote town in WA.
Life here is altogether different to that in the leafy western suburbs of Perth. For Telfer is
less traditional country town (with main street, two quiet pubs, maybe a community town
hall) and more giant mine plus attendant camp, purpose-built for its hundreds of workers.
The Birth of the Mobile Workforce
In efforts to accommodate a work force that periodically grows and shrinks, Telfer has been
dismantled and rebuilt a few times by mining companies over the years. But then in the
mid-1990s it was discovered that it was cheaper to simply fly the entire work force in and
out rather than continually build and reconstruct permanent accommodation. Under the
new plan, those flown in would work for a sustained period of time (say four weeks), then
have a week or two off back home - in Perth or over east. The company would then be able
to draw from a broader, more skilled labour force, and workers would no longer need to
contemplate the unattractive lifestyle of living permanently in the middle of nowhere. As
this business model was adopted across the state, the FIFO work culture was born.
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia
is full colour, splendidly detailed, accessible and portable. This endlessly
fascinating reference, Pizzey and Knight's claim to fame, is in its 8th edition.
Setting Up Camp
The FIFO lifestyle is perhaps no more apparent than in Karratha, once a sleepy, nondescript
town but today infamous for its bulging FIFO population, expensive food and severe ac-
commodation shortages. Woodside, a major oil and gas producer, has set up camp here, ex-
ploring for gas off the north coast. The pace of expansion was so speedy, in fact, that there
wasn't time to build brick-and-tile homes for the workers. And so today in Karratha, bolted
on to the original small town centre, are a number of suburbs composed of 'dongas' -
makeshift, moveable, one-man accommodation units. A typical donga in Gap Ridge, the
main suburb, has a single bed, a TV, a shower and a toilet carved into a shipping-container-
like box-home. Meals are taken in the 'wet mess' (much like a mess hall).
Karratha locals have for some time been voicing concerns that an entire FIFO population
parties in their town without regard for the community. Places like Gap Ridge are home to
