Tom Price turns gold for Shire of Ashburton’s golden jubilee celebrations at Mountain View Sporting Club

The red dust of Tom Price turned gold on the weekend as community members celebrated the Shire of Ashburton’s golden jubilee with an evening of fun, music and festivities. The celebrations, held on June 11 at Tom Price’s Mountain View Sporting Club, featured food, fare rides and a free concert with music royalty the Black Sorrows and Ian Moss gracing the stage before Nameless Festival favourites Tre Amici brought the night home. Formed in 1972 by the amalgamation of the original Shire of Ashburton and Shire of Tableland, the new local government was dubbed the Shire of West Pilbara before reverting back to the Ashburton name in 1987. The area spans more than 100,000sqkm and includes the mining towns of Tom Price, Paraburdoo and Pannawonica as well as the coastal hideaway, Onslow. The region is also home to one of the States most idyllic treasures, the Karijini National Park. Its rich history and varied heritage began in agriculture and pearling, fishing and Indigenous heritage and has grown to become a driving force of the resources industry in the Pilbara. The region was also impacted by World War II with the Navy refuelling at the Onslow jetty. On May 15 1943 Onslow became the furthest town south to be bombed by the Japanese when one plane dropped three bombs on the airstrip. No one was hurt and no aircraft were damaged in the attack. The Royal Navy used Onslow as its base between 1952 and 1956 to conduct tests on the nearby Monte Bello Islands, culminating in an atomic bomb explosion. Shire president Kerry White said it was a great achievement for the Shire to reach 50 years. “It’s exciting to see how far we’ve come over the last 50 years and it’s time to celebrate it,” she said. “Seeing our towns grow has been a huge achievement and to have such a great population in each town and happy towns.” Ms White said she hoped locals enjoyed the festivities and would take pride in the community. “We are going to grow in the next 50 years, we’re not going to go backwards,” she said. Asked what she was most proud of about the region, Ms White said it was having a happy community and happy towns. “That takes priority over everything else,” she said. In his opening speech, Shire chief executive Kenn Donohoe said he was pleased to see the community come out in support of the celebrations. “We’re lucky to Tom Price is one of those towns that demonstrates exactly what community is about. Our small community is one full of spirit, passionate individuals and active community groups that make us proud to call this vibrant Pilbara region our home.” Celebrations will continue in Onslow on June 18 with a family fun day featuring an ice skating rink, mini golf and rock climbing. That evening a free concert will also be held on Thalanyji Oval headlined by The Choirboys with food vans and a pop-up bar.