Newman's 'retro house' celebrates outback town's mining history

Australia Broadcast Center

26-04-2025

The mining town of Newman, 1,170-kilometres north-east of Perth, is an iron-ore powerhouse.
Today, the mines that surround it are worth more than $24 billion a year in revenue.
But like many towns in WA's remote Pilbara, it does not have a local museum.
And it means there's nowhere that publicly celebrates the human stories behind the immense mineral wealth.
"When I walk down the street of this town, when I walk past buildings; they're full of stories, they're full of history," local historian Lisa Rickert said.
"And they're worth preserving."
The 'snake man'
Twelve years ago, Ms Rickert, who has lived in Newman almost her whole life, decided to do just that.
Lisa Rickert has recorded more than 100 interviews with current and former Newman residents.
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ABC Pilbara: Charlie Mclean
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Using more than 100 interviews with current and former residents, and an ever-growing collection of archival photos, she built
One of her favourites is the late Charlie Snell, a man who came to Newman in 1966, when it was just a collection of tents supporting the construction of the Mt Whaleback mine.
"He was known as the 'snake man,'" Ms Rickert said.
"Back then there were two men to a tent but no-one would share with Charlie because he usually had a reptile on his person.
"He, along with the help of the local First Nations people, collected seedlings and started Newman's first nursery ... to grow plants in the town."
Charlie Snell (right) was known as the "snake man" for his love of the reptiles.
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Supplied: Lisa Rickert/Newman History 6753
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From an early age, Mr Snell had helped his grandfather, in south-west WA, grow flowers and vegetables for the Perth market and he used that knowledge in Newman.
Photos of Mr Snell are now hung on the walls of an original, "1968" home Ms Rickert has restored for her latest project: the Newman "retro house".
Joint effort to create 'retro house'
At the end of the "tent city" era of the 1960s, Mt Newman Mining Company (bought out by BHP in the early 90s) built a series of identical cottages for its workers.
In 1966, Newman was a tent city as the country's biggest open-pit iron-ore mine was being established.
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Supplied: Lisa Rickert/Newman History 6753
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Ms Rickert bought and restored one of the first homes built in the remote mining town, to celebrate the formative years of WA's mining industry.
She has set up the home exactly as it would have looked in the late 60s by sourcing original furniture and other common items from her childhood.
But she hasn't had to do it alone, with past and present Newman residents donating old belongings for the project.
"I've even had people bring things back from out of town," Ms Rickert said.
"Other people have posted things up [online] when they've found them.
"They think, 'Oh, will I throw this out? Or will I donate it to the history project?'"
In 2022, Ms Rickert bought a worker's cottage built in 1968 and has recreated its original interior design.
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Supplied: Darren Field Photography
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Earlier this year, Ms Rickert made the home's three bedrooms available to travellers or workers on short-term contracts needing a place to stay.
"[When] they are ex-residents of Newman, they will go crazy for these old 70s or 80s pieces of furniture because they have that connection with it," Ms Rickert said.
"It brings back memories of their time here."
Love-letter to mining life
Ms Rickert hopes the stories laid out in the house and on the website challenge the view that mining towns are places only to work, not to live.
She said right from the town's opening, its isolation and extreme temperatures bonded people together.
Ms Rickert's collection of archival photos capture the spirit of Newman's formative years.
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Supplied: Lisa Rickert/Newman History 6753
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"I think it was an exciting time [in the 60s] for those young people and they looked upon it as a challenge.
"Being so isolated back then and so far away from family, which we are today … the people, the friends that you make in town, they sort of become your family.
"The bond between Newman people is so strong they actually have an annual reunion every year in March."
Some of Ms Rickert's items poke fun at Newman's isolation and reputation for being a tough place to live.
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ABC Pilbara: Charlie Mclean
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But she recognises not everyone is up for the "challenge".
"There's the other side," Ms Rickert said.
"When Dad first came to town in March of 1970 the average stay was two weeks.
"So a lot of the men that came here took one look around and just said 'No, I'm not bringing my family here' and jumped on the next flight home."