NEWMAN
Norman is the ‘destination’ town of
the inland WA route. Newman is a new town that owes its existence to
BHP.

The area was once marginal cattle
country, Newman was built in the 1960s by the Mount Newman Mining
Company, with the discovery of rich iron deposits on nearby Mount
Whaleback. The discovery marked the start of the resource boom in
Western Australia in the 1970s. The town takes its name from nearby
Mount Newman, named in honour of A.W. Newman, an early explorer who
died of typhoid just before reaching the area in 1896.   
Newman boasts the largest iron ore
open cut mine in the world, and it is still growing.  
Typical of company towns, Newman is laid out with a core, where
shopping and hotels are located, surrounded by residential areas, with
more industrial activities on the outskirts. There is one shopping
mall in the town, two shopping plazas, three hotels, and three
bars/restaurants outside of those contained in the hotels. One public
outdoor pool serves the town's population.
A privately-owned railway, the Mount Newman Railway, was constructed
linking it to Port Hedland which itself was upgraded to handle
shipment of the ore to the world market. On 21 June 2001 a train 7.353
km (4.568 miles) long, comprising 682 ore cars and eight locomotives
made the Newman—Port Hedland trip and is listed as the world's longest
train ever.
Being founded in the 1960s, Newman's architecture reflects the
modernist styles of that decade and the next, being predominantly
functional and devoid of detail or embellishment. As the town was
founded and built by a steel company, the majority of buildings use a
steel frame construction.
Each of the traditional religions is represented in Newman.  
There are two main pubs. 
The Newman War Memorial is a traditional ‘new’ acknowledgement.
The Museum is located at the info office.   
Be sure to have an overnight and do the ‘open cut mine’ tour.
Heritage diary 
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