Northampton (Western Australia)

Northampton is a small town in Western Australia, with 813 inhabitants. It is located about 50 kilometers north of Geraldton, 430 kilometers south of Carnarvon and approximately 480 kilometers north of the capital Perth. Northampton is located on the North West Coastal Highway, which is part of the Australian National Highway 1. Northampton is located in the Mid West region of Western Australia on the edge of the Wheatbelt, the granary of the country.

Northampton was established after 1842 were discovered in the area copper and lead deposits. The resulting mine soon and the city at that time had the name Gwalla. Was officially recognized as a city of Northampton in 1864, it received its present name, but only in 1871. This is a combination of the name of the city of Northampton in England and the name of the then Governor of Western Australia, John Steven Hampton. In order to transport the mined in the near mine ore faster to the nearest port in the city of Port Gregory, 1879 a railway line was opened. The connection was the first in Western Australia, which was built by the government. The connection was closed down in 1957.

One of the main industries is tourism. Northampton is traversed due to its location by many tourists who are from Perth on the way to Monkey Mia and Exmouth. In the area there are cave paintings of Aboriginal people, Aboriginal languages. Another tourist attraction near Northampton is the Principality of Hutt River, a microstate which in 1970 declared its independence from Australia.