["The Great Nor'-West", The West Australian, Friday 23 April 1909, page 2]
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As the steamers call at the various ports going up the coast, one can see that a good deal of money has been spent, but some of it hardly wisely. At Onslow the steamers have to lie a long way off shore, and lighterage charges add considerably to the expense of living.
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At Point Sampson the jetty seems to be virtually useless. The captains will not even go to it when the glass is low enough for "willy willy" weather to prevail.
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At Port Hedland the sea is very shallow for miles. Even if the so-called "bar" were cut, this would always be a tidal port, only to be entered for about two hours out of each tide for the half of each month. No amount of money could make it otherwise. At Balla Balla a really good harbour could have been made, but whereas at Hedland the money can be spent in dribs and drabs spread over years, and the public will not realise it, at Balla all would have to be spent before any value was attained, and, alas! the cost approximates a quarter of a million, and that was beyond the Government's pocket. All this expenditure along the coast must total a good deal, but, like other cheap substitutes for expensive but serviceable things, it only resembles the real article in outward appearance, not in effectiveness. Once over the bar, the steamer lies snug enough at Port Hedland. When once the new jetty is in use the outward and homeward bound steamers can be handled simultaneously, and that is all that is needed. The town is not inviting in appearance, consisting of straggling buildings on a sandy flat. The creek is not of a magnitude to supply a freshet such as carried part of Carnarvon away this year; otherwise Port Hedland suggests that its ultimate destiny is to be swept into the sea.
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