Wyndham

At the end of the Great Northern Highway you will find the little town of Wyndham, which has the character and spirit of a true Kimberley outback town. 

Perched beneath the Bastion Range, the town is situated at the mouth of the King, Pentecost, Durack, Forest and Ord Rivers in the Cambridge Gulf.

The most northerly township in Western Australia, Wyndham is surrounded by some of the Kimberley’s most spectacular landforms, rivers and wetlands, offering a host of outback adventures.

How to get to Wyndham

Wyndham is situated 105km northwest of Kununurra on the Great Northern Highway, or 1037km northeast of Broome. Domestic flights from Perth to Broome and Kununurra depart year round, and direct flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Broome are available during the summer months. 

Heritage

Established in 1886, the Port of Wyndham was an essential link in the development of the Kimberley. Its beginnings came with the Halls Creek gold rush, as thousands of would-be gold barons travelled through the port on their way to stake their claim. With the end of the gold rush just a couple of years later, Wyndham continued to service the beef industry, with supplies delivered to and cattle transported from the port.

From 1913, the government started construction of the Wyndham meatworks, which opened in 1919 and was involved in the export of beef to Britain. It was the town's major employer until it closed in 1985.

The overland telegraph also played a large part in Wyndham's history - in 1889 links between Perth and Wyndham were established, and in 1914 the Wyndham Wireless Station was built on top of Telegraph Hill in Parrys Creek Nature Reserve. It was operational until 1921 assisting ships entering Wyndham Port, and also played a part in World War I.

Wyndham also made the headlines on several occasions, including in the 1930's when it was the Australian landing point for aviators seeking to establish new solo flying records between England and Australia. In 1935, the first Australian Inland Mission Aerial Medical Service (later renamed the Royal Flying Doctor Service) was established in Wyndham. 

Today, Wyndham in WA has a population of just 900 people and operates as a working port, servicing the cattle export industry, the mining and tourism industries and the Ord River Project.