Chinaman’s Pool, Marble Bar, Tourism Western Australia

If all the towns in Australia entered a ‘Hot or Not’ competition, Marble Bar would definitely be hot.

Its reputation for being the hottest town in Australia comes from early in the twentieth century, when Marble Bar recorded temperatures of over 38 degrees for 161 consecutive days. Things have cooled down a bit since then – while the town regularly reaches 45 degrees in summer, the locals normally have a day or two of relief in between.

Marble Bar is itself a relief, an oasis of modern amenities in the middle of a particularly sparse stretch of the Pilbara. It is, of course, a mining town. But it is nowhere near the scale of the major mining towns in this region like Port Hedland or Karratha, and is, quite frankly, charming, from its heritage-listed buildings to the native-tree nursery on the outskirts of town.

Iron Clad Hotel, Marble Bar, Tourism Western Australia

There’s even a heritage-listed pub, built during the gold rush. The Iron Clad Hotel is over 120 years old, although luckily the cool beverages it sells aren’t quite the same age. Unlike gold-rush-era buildings on the east coast of Australia, for instance the spectacular hotels in Ballarat and Bendigo, the Iron Clad Hotel is built on a smaller scale. Imagine an outback pub on a dusty outback road, whack a few corrugated iron panels on it and you’ll have something close to the Iron Clad Hotel.

But if a drink is not cutting it and you need full body immersion to escape the heat, Marble Bar has a few ridiculously scenic swimming holes. Marble Bar Pool and its neighbouring Chinaman’s Pool are only 4 kilometres from town. You’ll also find jasper bar at the Marble Bar Pool. The town was named after the bar, as the jasper was originally thought to be marble. Splash some water on the bar to bring out the colours, but don’t take any – the bar is protected.

Somewhere that wasn’t quite as protected as jasper bar was Comet Gold Mine, which operated from 1936 to 1955. It’s now a museum, and you can take underground tours daily. Another, less well-known historical site near Marble Bar is an old WW II airbase. It’s not operational anymore, so you can visit and wander around at your leisure.

If you do visit Marble Bar in winter, hoping to soak up some of those 45 degree days, you’ll probably be disappointed. The town has quite a mild winter.

You might not find marble when you visit Marble Bar, but you will feel like you’ve struck gold.

Winter is the best time to visit Western Australia’s hot and dusty Pilbara region. Find out more about visiting Marble Bar here. And if you’re visiting the region, don’t forget to visit one of the best national parks in Australia: Karijini National Park.