City of Karratha is official

It does not matter where Shire of Roebourne locals live - be it in Dampier, Roebourne or Cheeditha - they are soon set to also become residents of the City of Karratha.

From July 1, the Shire of Roebourne will become known as the City of Karratha, after the Minister for Local Government last week approved a name change for the district.

Member for the Pilbara Brendon Grylls said the change was a symbol of Karratha's burgeoning importance as a regional city.

"It is very exciting, we set out on a path in 2008 that talked about revitalising the Pilbara and making sure it started to look as important as it was to the State economy," he said.

"There is still a body of work to achieve that vision, but we have made progress with the projects we have completed (in Karratha) and city status reflects that."

The change comes as Karratha has been transformed beyond recognition in the past five years, with the opening of the Leisureplex sporting facility, multi-storey apartments and a new main street as part of the ongoing $2 billion city centre revitalisation.

Karratha's residential population recently tipped over the 20,000 mark, while the Pilbara as a whole generates around one-sixth of the national GDP.

Shire president Peter Long said official city status would help growth by enabling the region to market itself more effectively when lobbying for State and Federal funding.

Karratha and Districts Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Robin Vandenberg said business also viewed the change as "fantastic".

"Business will benefit because anything we can do to promote the region and attract more funding as a whole benefits our small businesses," he said. Yet the new name was initially opposed by most Shire community associations.

Non-profit group Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation Limited chief executive Evan Moloney said his town was the oldest north of Geraldton. "They are short sighted to throw away the name of Roebourne, but we take it as an opportunity to forget Karratha and market the historic town of Roebourne as the oldest in the North West of Australia."