Shire of Ashburton
Shire of Ashburton | |||||||||||||
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Location in Western Australia | |||||||||||||
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Interactive map of Shire of Ashburton | |||||||||||||
| Country | Australia | ||||||||||||
| State | Western Australia | ||||||||||||
| Region | Pilbara | ||||||||||||
| Established | 1972 | ||||||||||||
| Council seat | Tom Price | ||||||||||||
| Government | |||||||||||||
| • Shire President | Kerry White | ||||||||||||
| • State electorate | |||||||||||||
| • Federal division | |||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||
• Total | 105,647 km2 (40,791 sq mi) | ||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||
| • Total | 7,391 (LGA 2021) | ||||||||||||
| Website | Shire of Ashburton | ||||||||||||
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The Shire of Ashburton is one of the four local government areas in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, covering an area of 105,647 square kilometres (40,791 sq mi). It is named after the Ashburton River.
The shire's administration centre is in the town of Tom Price. It had a population of about 13,000 as at the 2016 Census, most of whom live in the mining towns or in nearby mining camps. Most of the land is taken up by pastoral leases or protected areas (including the Karijini National Park). Other than agriculture, industries important to Ashburton include mining, oil, natural gas, fishing, and tourism.