Marble Bar, Western Australia

{{short description|Town in Western Australia}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2019}} {{Use Australian English|date=August 2019}} {{Redirect|Marble Bar|the historic bar in Sydney|Marble Bar, Sydney}} {{Infobox Australian place | type = town | name = Marble Bar | state = wa | image = 155 Chinaman's Pool, Marble Bar, July 1976 (51776233978).jpg | caption = Chinaman's Pool, 1976 | lga = Shire of East Pilbara | postcode = 6760 | est = 1893 | local_map = yes | zoom = 6 | coordinates = {{coord|21|10|12|S|119|44|49|E|display=inline,title}} | pushpin_label_position = right | pop =  | area = {{wikidata|property|raw|P2046}} | elevation= 178 | maxtemp = 35.3 | mintemp = 19.9 | rainfall = 361.7 | stategov = Pilbara | fedgov = Durack | dist1 = 1476 | dir1 = north east | location1= Perth | dist2 = 152 | dir2 = south east | location2= Port Hedland | dist3 = 242 | dir3 = north | location3= Newman }}

'''Marble Bar''' is a town and rock formation in the Pilbara region of north-western Western Australia. It was the social centre of European settlers in the Pilbara region during the early 1900s, predating the construction of other towns now established.

The town is additionally noted for its extremely hot climate, having a mean maximum temperature second in Australia only to Wyndham.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hottest places by maximum mean temperature in Australia |url=http://www.bonzle.com/c/a?a=f&sc=hot |website=Bonzle Digital Atlas of Australia |access-date=3 August 2018}}</ref>

It has also been noted for some palaeontological findings in its surroundings. Fossilised stromatolites found nearby (one of the earliest forms of life on Earth) have been dated to the Paleoarchean era approximately 3.5 billion years ago.

==History== left|thumb|Marble Bar town, 1898 Marble Bar has been described as "the centre of the Pilbara back in the early 1900s".<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2014-08-11 |title=Missing Pilbara town records reveal famous marriage |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2014-08-11/marble-bar-records/5661920 |access-date=2023-08-29}}</ref> The town predates Port Hedland, Newman, and Karratha.<ref name=":0" />

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.<ref name=":1">{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/Western-Australia/Marble-Bar/2005/02/17/1108500208281.html|title=Marble Bar|access-date=2008-09-16 | work=The Sydney Morning Herald | date=2008-01-15}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":1" />

In 1891, the town boasted a population in excess of 5,000 as it experienced a rush on the goldfields.<ref>{{cite web |year=2008 |title=About Australia – Marble Bar, WA |url=http://www.about-australia.com/western-australia/australias-north-west/destinations/marble-bar/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726134109/http://www.about-australia.com/western-australia/australias-north-west/destinations/marble-bar/ |archive-date=26 Jul 2008 |access-date=2008-09-16}}</ref> Several large gold nuggets were discovered as a result of the goldrush. The 333 ounce Little Hero nugget,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Little Hero Nugget 2022 1oz Gold Bullion Coin |url=https://www.perthmint.com/shop/bullion/bullion-coins/little-hero-nugget-2022-1oz-gold-bullion-coin/ |access-date=2023-08-29 |website=www.perthmint.com |language=en}}</ref> the 413 ounce Bobby Dazzler and the 332 ounce General Gordon nugget were all found in the goldfields around the town.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-01-15 |title=Marble Bar |url=https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/marble-bar-20080115-gdkqz5.html |access-date=2023-08-29 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref>

By 1895, the town had its Government offices built; these are now National Trust buildings.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} Cut from local stone, the buildings still stand today.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} The town's Ironclad Hotel was built in the 1890s, and has been listed on the Western Australian register of heritage places since 2006.<ref>{{cite news |year=2006 |title=Historic Marble Bar hotel to get heritage listing |work=ABC News |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2006/02/07/1564216.htm |access-date=2008-09-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121108032512/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2006-02-07/historic-marble-bar-hotel-to-get-heritage-listing/794050 |archive-date=8 Nov 2012}}</ref> It is constructed of corrugated iron, and was given its name by American miners who were reminded of the ironclad ships of the United States navy.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

A telegraph line was proposed during discussion of the Estimates in January 1893 to link Condon to Marble Bar.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} 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|date=August 2023}} These mines needed communication with other centres – including to England.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} Finally the line was completed at the end of July 1894 - to the satisfaction of an increasingly irate community.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} A Post and Telegraph Office was opened on 25 August 1894.<ref>{{Cite web |last =Johnstone, James Dr. |title = Telegrams in Australia|url=https://telegramsaustralia.com/Forms/Telegraph%20Offices/Western%20Australia/TOs%20Pilbara.html#Marble_Bar |access-date=25 May 2023}}</ref>

During World War II, United States Army Air Forces and Royal Australian Air Force heavy bombers were based {{convert|25|km}} away as the crow flies at Corunna Downs Airfield.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} Allied airmen from the base attacked Japanese forces as far away as Borneo.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

The Port Hedland to Marble Bar Railway opened on 15 July 1911, costing around £300,000 to build.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article233483510|title=Port Hedland|date=18 July 1911|newspaper=The Murchison Times And Day Dawn Gazette|access-date=26 November 2017|issue=141|location=Western Australia|volume=17|page=3|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article211366545|title=Port Hedland-Marble Bar railway|date=17 July 1911|newspaper=Geraldton Express|access-date=26 November 2017|location=Western Australia|volume=XXXIII|page=3|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> Due to low traffic and high financial losses, the railway closed from 31 May 1951.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article76086479|title=Hedland- Marble Bar railway to close|date=24 May 1951|newspaper=Northern Times|access-date=26 November 2017|issue=21|location=Western Australia|volume=75|page=6|via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> 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|date=May 2021}}

In a 2002 memoir, British businessman Alistair McAlpine (1942–2014) described staying a night in the town as part of a journey to find outback wildflowers: <blockquote> By early evening you arrive at Marble Bar - a small town that was the administrative centre for a once-prosperous region. Now all it boasts are large red-brick barracks, built in the form of a decorative castle, and the Iron Clad Hotel, made of corrugated iron (...) After your disturbed night in Marble Bar, the reason the Iron Clad has so few bedrooms becomes apparent: visitors drink most of the night and sleep where they drop. September is the perfect time to stay in Marble Bar, for the temperature is pleasant in a place where its range is enormous. In winter, the drunks try to share your cabin if the door is not locked. In summer, if you lock the door, you suffocate.<ref>{{cite book |last=McAlpine |first=Alistair |title= Adventures Of A Collector |year=2002 |publisher= Allen & Unwin |location= Sydney|isbn= 1-86508-786-6 |page=11 |author-link = Alistair McAlpine, Baron McAlpine of West Green}}</ref> </blockquote>

==Climate == Marble Bar has a hot desert climate (Köppen ''BWh'') with sweltering summers and warm winters. Most of the annual rainfall occurs in the summer. The town set a world record of most consecutive days at or above {{convert|100|F|1}}: 160 days from 31 October 1923 to 7 April 1924.<ref name="climateextremes">{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/levelthree/c20thc/temp1.htm|title=Marble Bar heatwave, 1923–1924|work=Australian Climate Extremes|publisher=Bureau of Meteorology|access-date=21 September 2008|archive-url=https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20090317054300/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/96122/20090317-1643/www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/levelthree/c20thc/temp1.html|archive-date=17 March 2009}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> Although annual temperatures indicate Marble Bar should be within the tropics, with a July (winter) mean of {{convert|19|C|F}}, it does not have the high precipitation requirements for hot-weather climates to sustain tropical vegetation.

During December and January, temperatures in excess of {{Convert|45|C|F}} are common, and the average maximum temperature exceeds normal human body temperature for six months each year. Marble Bar receives 159.6 clear days annually. Dewpoint in the summers is between {{convert|10|and|15|C|F}}. In contrast to most of the year, winters are warm, with days averaging {{convert|27|C|F}}, low humidity and clear skies. Nights from June to August can be chilly, occasionally as low as {{convert|5|C|F}} but frost is unknown. Even in mid winter however, brief bursts of heat can result in the temperature rising as high as {{convert|35|C|F}} for a few days before dropping back to normal.

Rainfall is sparse and erratic, though variability is significantly less extreme than over the coastal Pilbara – the tenth percentile being {{convert|190.9|mm|in|2}} vis-à-vis only {{convert|67.4|mm|in|2}} in Onslow.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Dewar|first1=Robert E|last2=Wallis|first2=James R|title=Geographical patterning of interannual rainfall variability in the tropics and near tropics: An L-moments approach|journal=Journal of Climate|volume=12|issue=12|pages=3457–3466|bibcode=1999JCli...12.3457D|year=1999|doi=10.1175/1520-0442(1999)012<3457:GPOIRV>2.0.CO;2|s2cid=55652367 |doi-access=free}}</ref> It falls largely between December and March, with occasional rain events from autumn northwest cloudbands up to June. As little as {{convert|71.1|mm|in|2|abbr=on}} can fall in a year; however, during heavy wet seasons when the monsoon reaches well south into the Pilbara, the rainfall can be significantly more – as much as {{convert|927.1|mm|in|2}} fell between April 1999 and March 2000, and {{convert|797.9|mm|in|2|abbr=on}} fell in 1980 owing to several tropical cyclones. The most rain recorded in a month is {{convert|417.4|mm|in|2|abbr=on}} in March 2007,<ref name="climate2">{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_004106_All.shtml|title=Climate statistics for Australian locations: Marble Bar|publisher=Bureau of Meteorology|access-date=19 March 2025}}</ref> and the most in one day {{convert|304.8|mm|in|2}} on 2 March 1941.<ref name="climate"/> {{Weather box |location = Marble Bar, Western Australia |metric first = yes |single line = yes |Jan record high C = 49.2 |Feb record high C = 48.3 |Mar record high C = 47.4 |Apr record high C = 45.0 |May record high C = 39.5 |Jun record high C = 35.8 |Jul record high C = 35.0 |Aug record high C = 39.7 |Sep record high C = 42.6 |Oct record high C = 46.0 |Nov record high C = 47.2 |Dec record high C = 49.3 |year record high C = 49.3 |Jan high C = 41.0 |Feb high C = 39.8 |Mar high C = 39.0 |Apr high C = 36.0 |May high C = 30.7 |Jun high C = 27.1 |Jul high C = 26.8 |Aug high C = 29.6 |Sep high C = 33.9 |Oct high C = 37.6 |Nov high C = 40.5 |Dec high C = 41.6 |year high C = 35.3 |Jan low C = 26.1 |Feb low C = 25.7 |Mar low C = 24.8 |Apr low C = 21.4 |May low C = 16.6 |Jun low C = 13.2 |Jul low C = 11.7 |Aug low C = 13.3 |Sep low C = 16.7 |Oct low C = 20.3 |Nov low C = 23.6 |Dec low C = 25.5 |year low C = 19.9 |Jan record low C = 17.9 |Feb record low C = 13.9 |Mar record low C = 15.0 |Apr record low C = 10.0 |May record low C = 5.6 |Jun record low C = 1.1 |Jul record low C = 2.2 |Aug record low C = 3.9 |Sep record low C = 5.6 |Oct record low C = 10.0 |Nov record low C = 14.4 |Dec record low C = 17.0 |year record low C = 1.1 |Jan rain mm = 76.3 |Feb rain mm = 87.8 |Mar rain mm = 56.7 |Apr rain mm = 21.9 |May rain mm = 23.0 |Jun rain mm = 23.0 |Jul rain mm = 12.6 |Aug rain mm = 6.4 |Sep rain mm = 0.9 |Oct rain mm = 3.8 |Nov rain mm = 9.1 |Dec rain mm = 39.6 |Jan rain days =7.4 |Feb rain days = 7.7 |Mar rain days = 4.9 |Apr rain days = 1.9 |May rain days = 2.4 |Jun rain days = 2.3 |Jul rain days = 1.5 |Aug rain days = 0.9 |Sep rain days = 0.3 |Oct rain days = 0.6 |Nov rain days = 1.5 |Dec rain days = 4.6 |unit rain days = 0.2 mm |Jan afthumidity = 26 |Feb afthumidity = 31 |Mar afthumidity = 26 |Apr afthumidity = 23 |May afthumidity = 27 |Jun afthumidity = 28 |Jul afthumidity = 24 |Aug afthumidity = 21 |Sep afthumidity = 17 |Oct afthumidity = 16 |Nov afthumidity = 16 |Dec afthumidity = 20 |year humidity = 23 |source 1 = Australian Bureau of Meteorology<ref name="climate2"/><ref name="climate">{{cite web|url=http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_004020_All.shtml|title=Climate statistics for Australian locations: Marble Bar Comparison|publisher=Bureau of Meteorology|access-date=2008-09-21}}</ref> |date=February 2019 }}

== Geological history == Fossilised stromatolites, found near Marble Bar, are one of the earliest forms of life on Earth, dating to 3.5 billion years ago during the Paleoarchean era, when at that time oxygen produced aerobic organisms.

A location nearby is known as ''North Pole'' (21° 05' S. 119° 22' E.). The location's rock formations contain stromatolites in particular rock sequences, which some scientists have considered evidence that puts the origin of life on earth back to 3,400–3,500 million years ago.<ref>Douglas, Kim. (1980) "Oldest forms of life on Earth found in WA rocks". North Pole Gold Mine (W.A.) ''Australian women's weekly'', 5 November 1980, p.36-37</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Dunlop | first1 = J.S.R. | last2 = Muir | first2 = M.D. | last3 = Milne | first3 = A. | last4 = Groves | first4 = D.I. | year = 1978 | title = A New Microfossil Assemblage from the Archaean of Western Australia | journal = Nature | volume = 274 | issue = 5672| pages = 676–678 | doi=10.1038/274676a0| bibcode = 1978Natur.274..676D | s2cid = 4197857 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Walter | first1 = M.R. | last2 = Buick | first2 = R. | last3 = Dunlop | first3 = J.R.S. | year = 1980 | title = Stromatolites 3,400-3,500 Myr Old from the North Pole Area, Western Australia | journal = Nature | volume = 284 | issue = 5755| pages = 443–445 | doi=10.1038/284443a0| bibcode = 1980Natur.284..443W | s2cid = 4256480 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Buick | first1 = R. | last2 = Dunlop | first2 = J.S.R. | last3 = Groves | first3 = D.I. | year = 1981 | title = Stromatolite Recognition in Ancient Rocks and Appraisal of Irregularly Laminated Structures in an Early Archaean Chert-Barite Unit from North Pole, Western Australia | journal = Alcheringa | volume = 5 | issue = 3| pages = 161–181 | doi=10.1080/03115518108566999| bibcode = 1981Alch....5..161B }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Newly discovered early Archean (3.4–3.5 Ga Old) microorganisms from the Warrawoona Group of Western Australia |publisher=SpringerLink |doi=10.1007/BF02422059 |volume=16 |issue=3–4 |journal=Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere |pages=339–340|year=1986 |last1=Schopf |first1=J. William |last2=Packer |first2=Bonnie M |bibcode=1986OrLi...16..339S |s2cid=39363922 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Buick | first1 = R | year = 1988 | title = Carbonaceous Filaments from North Pole, Western Australia: Are They Fossil Bacteria in Archaean Stromatolites? A reply | journal = Precambrian Research | volume = 39 | issue = 4| pages = 311–317 | doi=10.1016/0301-9268(88)90024-1| bibcode = 1988PreR...39..311B }}</ref><ref>[http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2004/pdf/1241.pdf Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV (2004): "Characterization Of The Organic Matter In An Archean Chert (Warrawoona, Australia)."]</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Molecular evidence for life in the 3.5 billion year old Warrawoona chert |journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters |volume=272 |pages=476–480 |bibcode=2008E&PSL.272..476D|last1=Derenne |first1=Sylvie |last2=Robert |first2=François |last3=Skrzypczak-Bonduelle |first3=Audrey |last4=Gourier |first4=Didier |last5=Binet |first5=Laurent |last6=Rouzaud |first6=Jean-Noël |year=2008 |issue=1–2 |doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2008.05.014 }}</ref><ref>http://www.cosis.net/abstracts/EGU04/03612/EGU04-J-03612.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923210657/http://www.cosis.net/abstracts/EGU04/03612/EGU04-J-03612.pdf |date=23 September 2015 }} Geophysical Research Abstracts, Vol. 6, 03612, 2004: SRef-ID: 1607-7962/gra/EGU04-A-03612: European Geosciences Union 2004: "Characterization Of The Organic Matter In An Archean Chert (Warrawoona, Australia)"</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://pilbara.mq.edu.au/wiki/Reef |title=Reef – Pilbara |access-date=3 September 2011 |archive-date=26 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140126113635/http://pilbara.mq.edu.au/wiki/Reef |url-status=dead }}</ref>

This has been a subject of long scientific debate. The biologic explanation has been disputed with the argument that stromatolites older than 3,200 mya are not the result of living organisms (the definition of stromatolites includes both living and abiotic causes), the small conical structures in the Strelley Pool formation (Warrawoona Group) being formed by evaporation and a dome structure from the North Pole chert (also Warrawoona Group) being formed by soft-sediment deformation.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Lowe | first1 = D R | year = 1994 | title = Abiological origin of described stromatolites older than 3.2 Ga | journal = Geology | volume = 22 | issue = 5| pages = 387–390 | doi=10.1130/0091-7613(1994)022<0387:aoodso>2.3.co;2| pmid = 11540142 | bibcode = 1994Geo....22..387L }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Hofmann HJ |title=Archean microfossils and abiomorphs |journal=Astrobiology |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=135–6 |year=2004 |pmid=15253835|doi=10.1089/153110704323175115 |bibcode = 2004AsBio...4..135H }}</ref>

Research by Abigail Allwood on the geology of the North Pole stromatolite reef appears to confirm the biologic origins of patterns in the formation. Continuing support for their geologic origin, following the 2006 publication of her team's results in ''Nature''<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Allwood |first1=Abigail C. |last2=Walter |first2=Malcolm R. |last3=Kamber |first3=Balz S. |last4=Marshall |first4=Craig P. |last5=Burch |first5=Ian W. |title=Stromatolite reef from the Early Archaean era of Australia |journal=Nature |date=June 2006 |volume=441 |issue=7094 |pages=714–718 |doi=10.1038/nature04764 |pmid=16760969 |bibcode=2006Natur.441..714A |s2cid=4417746 |language=en |issn=0028-0836}}</ref> led to further investigations and Allwood's development of the PIXL technology at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, for use in confirming her earlier conclusions. Use of PIXL, together with the insight gained into the organic processes that can build geologic formations, are key components of the Mars 2020 Mission.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2021-02-17/mars-nasa-perserverance-rover-abigail-allwood-david-flannery/13149766 |title=NASA's latest Mars mission with Perseverance has two very interested Australians: Abigail Allwood and David Flannery |first=Genelle |last=Weule |orig-date=16 February 2021 |date=17 February 2021 |website=www.abc.net.au}}</ref>

==See also== * List of weather records * Pilbara historical timeline * Pilbara newspapers * Royal Commission into British nuclear tests in Australia * Warrawoona Group – in relation to North Pole findings

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading== * Edwards, Hugh. ''Gold dust and iron mountains: Marble Bar & beyond: the story of the Eastern Pilbara''. Swanbourne, W. A.: H. Edwards, 1993. {{ISBN|0-646-14570-3}} "Produced by the East Pilbara Shire for the centenary of Marble Bar, 1893–1993".

Category:Marble Bar, Western Australia Category:Mining towns in Western Australia Category:Towns in Western Australia Category:Shire of East Pilbara Category:Weather extremes of Earth