Shire of Carnarvon

In The Middle of the Country and the Middle of Innovative Growth Moving Forward

Focused on Tourism, Innovation, and Community Needs, This Remote Western Australian Centre Is Well Positioned for a New Era of Growth.

Sitting on Western Australia’s coast in a vast and striking landscape, the Shire of Carnarvon occupies a position that is both remote and remarkably rich in opportunity.

For CEO Mandy Dexter, understanding Carnarvon begins with appreciating that geography. The community is hours from another centre offering a greater range of services, while the Shire itself sits within an arid environment receiving only around 200 millimetres of rainfall annually. Yet its coastal location places it between some of Western Australia’s most extraordinary natural assets.

“We are the Shire of Carnarvon, and we sit sort of in the middle of Western Australia. We’re quite remote,” Dexter said. “We, however, are on the coast and we’re in the middle of two World Heritage UNESCO sites.”

To the north is the Ningaloo Reef and Coral Bay area, while Shark Bay and its remarkable coastline lie to the south. Inland, the Kennedy Range adds another dimension to a region whose natural assets complement its role as an important service centre.

Economically, Carnarvon has experienced challenges over the past decade, but Dexter sees encouraging signs of rejuvenation. New interest in industries ranging from salt production to data centres and renewable energy is emerging alongside significant state and federal investment.

“Economically in the last 10 years, we’re probably in one of our lowest ebbs, but we seem to be having a bit of a rejuvenation at the moment,” Dexter said.

Housing investment is particularly important, both in addressing local needs and rebuilding construction activity that had declined across regional centres.

Investing in the Heart of Carnarvon

That renewal is already becoming visible through an ambitious collection of community infrastructure and amenity projects.

Lead Strategic Projects Manager Mark Davis said much of the current activity stems from strategic planning and the Carnarvon Activation Plan, which identified priority projects alongside community members and local stakeholders.

“They focus on the town centre around the Robinson Street precinct and not only appeal to increasing and improving the livability for residents but also providing attractions and additional amenity for visitors to the town and region,” Davis said.

A major catalyst is more than $15 million secured through the Commonwealth Government’s Regional Precincts and Partnerships Program. Funding is supporting six sub-projects, including a private development that will deliver 60 additional dwellings.

Known as the Pier project and being delivered by DG Corp, the housing development represents an important addition to the town centre. Other Shire-led projects encompass playground improvements, public art and the rejuvenation of historical infrastructure.

The objective extends beyond simply building new amenities. The Shire wants the investment to circulate through the local economy during construction.

“Because of the size and scale of these projects, we are taking an approach to try and involve as many local businesses, contractors, builders, fabricators, all manner of local industries in their development so that we get additional bang for your buck out of the funding and that money can stay in Carnarvon as much as possible,” Davis said.

Building on Established Industries

While emerging industries offer exciting possibilities, Carnarvon’s economic foundation remains diverse.

Agriculture is particularly significant. Dexter described the region as Western Australia’s vegetable food bowl outside the Perth growing area, supported by water beneath the Gascoyne River.

Bananas, mangoes, tomatoes, broccoli, zucchini and beans are among the crops produced locally, with Carnarvon playing an important role in supplying Perth with vegetables during winter before production shifts towards melons, bananas and mangoes during summer.

Fishing and aquaculture provide another avenue for expansion. Dexter pointed to work around soft-shell crab production as well as sustainable opportunities involving prawns and scallops.

“We sit in a prime fishing and aquaculture area as well, and so there’s some advances and some work they’re doing there,” Dexter said.

The pastoral industry remains important across the Shire’s enormous geographical footprint, with approximately 40 properties spread across 53,000 square kilometres contributing to Western Australia’s beef and goat industries.

Renewables, Data and the Return of Space

Carnarvon’s combination of land, sunshine and wind is also attracting attention from industries that could shape its next economic chapter.

Large, flat landholdings north of town within the Northern Town Common are being considered in the context of renewable energy and data centres. Potential port infrastructure could become important should industries such as hydrogen develop further.

Mining opportunities can also change with commodity prices. Dexter noted renewed interest in inland gold resources as stronger gold prices improve the economics of operating in an isolated region.

Perhaps Carnarvon’s most distinctive opportunity, however, is linked to a much earlier technological era.

The town played an important role during the space race and moon landing era, leaving it with significant former NASA-associated infrastructure. Today, one of those assets could find an entirely new purpose.

Canadian company Thoth is exploring the potential to use Carnarvon’s large dish to monitor movements in space as satellite activity increases.

“They tested it last year because it’s from the 60s and it still works,” Dexter said. “We’re hoping over the next few years that this incredible piece of infrastructure, the dish, the West Australian dish, not the Parkes New South Wales dish, might get put back into use again.”

Feasibility work involving the state government and Thoth could therefore transform a symbol of Carnarvon’s past into an asset supporting its future.

Tourism Through Experience and Identity

Tourism provides another opportunity to bring Carnarvon’s many strengths together.

Davis highlighted the Shire’s hosting of the annual WA tourism conference as an opportunity to showcase the region to the wider tourism industry. Pastoral station stays, horticultural produce, seafood and Carnarvon’s space heritage all contributed to demonstrating the breadth of the destination.

The Shire also works closely with the local Chamber of Commerce, Australia’s Coral Coast, Tourism WA and Indigenous tourism organisations.

Dexter said Indigenous tourism presents particularly compelling opportunities around astronomy, Aboriginal culture and Dreamtime stories, creating experiences connected directly to Carnarvon’s landscape and extraordinary night skies.

“We work very closely with WAITOC, which is the WA Indigenous Tourism Operators Group, and are trying to grow those experiences,” Dexter said. “There’s a great deal happening in that astronomy area and trying to improve our product development in terms of night sky, Aboriginal culture and Dreamtime.”

Cultural heritage is also central to the restoration of the historic One Mile Jetty. Dating to the 1800s, the structure carries complex stories, including its role in the pastoral economy and transportation links as well as painful chapters of Aboriginal history.

The restoration offers an opportunity not simply to preserve infrastructure, but to ensure those stories are properly acknowledged and communicated.

Housing and Connectivity for the Next Chapter

Over the coming 12 to 24 months, housing will remain among the Shire’s highest priorities.

The ambition is significant: Carnarvon wants another 100 homes. The Shire is advocating for land development opportunities, including former school sites that could potentially be cleared and repurposed.

“The biggest priority is to continue land development,” Dexter said. “We have the 100 houses plan. And so we want to see another 100 houses built in Carnarvon.”

At the same time, the Shire wants to activate the infrastructure now being delivered, using improved public spaces, walkways and community art to increase tourism reach and strengthen the town centre.

Connectivity is the other critical piece. A planned $17 million airport upgrade is expected to be a major focus over the next two years, enabling Carnarvon Airport to accommodate Q400 aircraft and increase regular passenger transport capacity.

Improved air access could strengthen tourism while making it easier for workers, investors and businesses to reach the region.

Despite its remoteness, Carnarvon remains less than a two-hour flight from Perth and approximately an eight-to-nine-hour drive away. Dexter believes that accessibility gives families and businesses an opportunity to embrace regional life without feeling completely disconnected from the state capital.

Open for Business

Underlying Carnarvon’s many projects is a simple message: the region is ready for investment.

The Shire is already demonstrating what collaboration can achieve. Its relationship with DG Corp helped progress the significant Pier housing development, while new ownership of the Carnarvon Shopping Centre is generating discussion around refurbishment, redevelopment and new tenancies.

Davis stressed that the scale of change now underway cannot be attributed to local government alone.

“It’s not the Shire doing this all alone,” Davis said. “It’s all those partnerships from the private sector, from state government, from Commonwealth government that’s allowing us to move forward in this way.”

For Carnarvon, that collaboration is arriving at an important moment. Housing, infrastructure and improved connectivity can create the foundation, while established strengths in horticulture, pastoralism, seafood and tourism sit alongside possibilities in renewable energy, data, mining and space technology.

After a difficult economic period, confidence is returning.

“I think we’re on the cusp of some really fabulous things happening and we have had that real investment and some confidence from the state and federal government with these projects,” Dexter said. “Everybody is trying to help us be geared up to take off.”

For a community with such a remarkable connection to the history of space exploration, it is a fitting metaphor. Carnarvon is drawing on its location, heritage and partnerships to ensure its next chapter is defined not by remoteness, but by opportunity.

AT A GLANCE

Who: Shire of Carnarvon

What: A regional local government and service centre supporting community development, economic growth, infrastructure, tourism and investment.

Where: Carnarvon, Western Australia.

Website: www.carnarvon.wa.gov.au

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