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Permanent dwellers take pride in quirks

It is certainly a unique lifestyle up here in the Pilbara and that lifestyle quickly breeds some very unique traits in its residents.

Pilbara MP Brendon Grylls said fishing and boats were always the hot topics of discussion.

"Now, either I'm the world's worst fisherman or people like to talk up their fish catches a lot here," he said.

"The kids know everyone's boats in town, they know how big everyone's motor is, how big their boat is, and they're always telling me I should get a bigger motor."

Mr Grylls said much of southern folks' perception of the Pilbara was based on the heat, however he did not consider it any worse than elsewhere in Australia.

Marble Bar (aka the most Pilbara town in the Pilbara) mainstay Kevin Danks said life in the remote outpost bred some pretty out-there characters.


Marble Bar - now that's hot. Picture: Simon Hydzik/The West Australian

"The funny thing with Marble Bar is sometimes you can get real characters, but being a smaller place, they don't really stick out because everyone is a character," he said.

"A lot of the blokes are pretty bloody independent - they don't bludge on their mates."

Ironclad Hotel (aka the most Pilbara pub in the most Pilbara town) publican Thomas Fox added that collectively, the station blokes were a bit of an unusual mob.


Inside the Iron Clad Hotel

Here are 30 more quirks many Pilbarians can relate to.

1. It is acceptable to bring your dog to the pub.

2. You say it is "only" 35C today.

3. You are genuinely surprised when cold water comes out of the cold tap in summer.

4. Every weekend involves fishing, camping, four-wheel-driving or the beach and usually ends at the pub.

5. You are woken up every morning by a chorus of beeps from reversing cars.

6. You like cockatoos except for the weeks where mangoes are ready to pick, and then they are the worst creature ever.

7. You know where Ieramugadu is.

8. You laugh at southern folk whenever they complain about heat, rain or wind.

9. You have a working knowledge of Red Dog, and have never taken a photo with his statue in Dampier.


Red Dog and the welcome to Dampier. Picture: WA Tourism Commission

10. You select cold wash on the washing machine to avoid shrinking your new top and it still shrinks down to the size of something an eight-year-old would wear because the "cold" water is actually warm.

11. You have become an expert at one-finger driving, and that finger has lost all sensitivity to heat.

12. Nowhere is too classy for thongs.

13. Tide times are the most important times to live by.

14. You go to Perth and can't understand why everyone is complaining about the price of a beer.

15. There is at least two of a four-wheel-drive, boat, jetski or quad bike in your driveway.


Hi vis - you're the odd one out if you're not wearing it.

16. Lee Kernaghan.

17. You wear akubra and other typical outback hats with pride.

18. You own more fishing rods than you do shoes.

19. It is always beer o'clock.

20. You've had a beer with Brad Hogg, Merv Hughes, Damian Martin, Justin Koschitzke or any of the former sports stars who regularly visit the Pilbara.

21. You observe groups of big city folk coming to your town to freak out about the weather.

22. Your social calendar revolves around horse races and rodeos.

23. You know not to go to the beach on a still summer's morning or evening without an inch-thick layer of bushman's, and laugh at out-of-towners who do.

24. The first thing you did when you moved to the Pilbara was to either buy a boat or make friends with a boat owner.

25. You love the heat, and love it even more when you're talking to a southerner.

26. You're the odd one out if you're not wearing hi-vis.

27. You go back to Perth in summer and need a jumper, but you don't own one.

28. You get upset when your local pub doesn't sell bush chook.

29. You carry an esky in your boot in summer to transport milk from the shops to your house five minutes away.

30. No matter what colour you bought it as, your car is red.