ONSLOW and OLD ONSLOW FREE CAMP WA

Onslow was gazetted on 3 November 1885 as a town to serve the port at Ashburton Roads, at the mouth of the Ashburton River, exporting wool from sheep stations of the Pilbara hinterland. It was named after the then Chief Justice of Western Australia, Sir Alexander Onslow.
On 15 May 1943, Onslow became the most southerly town in Australia to be bombed by the Japanese in World War 2, when a single plane bombed the airfield. However, there was no damage or casualties.
The Onslow salt field occupies 90 sq km of salt flats, with seawater pumped by three pumps at a maximum rate of 4,000 L/s each for approximately 18 hours per day depending on tides. Onslow Salt Pty Ltd is capable of producing nominally 2.5 million tones of sodium chloride per annum. The project has handling facilities to transport, process, store and load salt into ships for export. The jetty is approximately a 1.3 kilometre steel trestleway and is situated off Sunset Beach.
The port facilities on the Ashburton were silting up by 1925 and a decision was made to relocate the port around 18 kilometres east to Beadon Point where a deep water harbour could be established.The old Onslow townsite is now in ruins, with the police station complex (1893; 1906/1907) the most substantial remaining structure.
(Click on a photo to enlarge)

Onslow

Old Onslow Camp