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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Port Hedland’s Pier Hotel closed in July 2024, and its owners announced a one-off cash-only auction of furnishings and memorabilia, including the venue’s distinctive red “DJ ball.” The auction announcement drew attention to the pub’s mementos, but its eventual buyers and sale prices were not reported. The hotel’s story continued after the auction: BHP bought the site, demolished the building and, according to the Town of Port Hedland, made it a new park managed by the company.
What was the Pier Hotel auction?
After the hotel served its final pint in the week of 3 July 2024, its owners announced a cash-only auction for a Saturday beginning at midday. PerthNow reported that the 5,733-square-metre property had been put on the market and that local requests for pieces of the venue had overwhelmed management. The owners described the sale as “everything that’s not nailed to the floor.”
Items announced for auction included bar mats, barstools, picnic and aluminium tables, pedestal fans, bar fridges, televisions, the reception desk, sound equipment and speakers, as well as the DJ ball. The report covered the planned auction, not its final results: it did not identify the ball’s buyer or establish sale prices. (PerthNow, 3 July 2024)
Why the DJ ball stood out
The venue’s “DJ ball” was not described as a conventional mirrored disco ball. PerthNow called it a red, golf-ball-shaped dome and the hotel’s centrepiece, used for parties. That unusual shape is what makes the nickname memorable; the report does not establish what happened to the object after the announced auction.
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Other mementos and donations
Hotel manager Jess Taylor told PerthNow that she had received at least 200 calls from people seeking mementos. One unusual point of contention was a graffitied urinal cover: Taylor said, “The weirdest item we can’t believe we’ve had two people arguing over is a graffitied urinal cover.” It was not being auctioned because the steel had to be removed to take it off.
A toilet door, wall signs and message-covered tiles had been taken before the hotel closed. Appliances and hotel beds were donated to local charities, according to the same report. The auction was therefore only one part of how people and organizations took away pieces of the venue.
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Why did the Pier Hotel close, and what was its history?
The available accounts establish that the hotel closed in July 2024, but do not give a definitive reason for the closure. PerthNow reported that the owners had put the property on the market; that fact alone does not establish why they chose to close.
The State Heritage Office’s inHerit record places the hotel at 6–8 The Esplanade and dates construction from 1890. It identifies the Pier as one of Port Hedland’s first two hotels and describes its significance through the place it held in local social life and hospitality. The current hotel fronted the Esplanade, but the original building no longer remains. (State Heritage Office, inHerit)
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ABC News described the hotel as 130 years old at the time of its 2024 closure and recounted how it served station owners, commercial travellers and pilots. By the 1960s, it had been reconstructed as a meeting place for workers and visitors. Its reported traditions included cockroach races and spaghetti-eating competitions, alongside a “world’s toughest” reputation. (ABC News, 24 April 2025)
The story that there were “86 stabbings in one night” is not a verified historical count. ABC characterized it as an unfounded local rumour, so it should not be repeated as fact.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What happened to the hotel site after the auction announcement?
In August 2024, PerthNow reported that BHP had bought the hotel weeks after it closed. In April 2025, ABC reported the company’s announcement that it would demolish the building and create a community space with picnic tables and native vegetation. The Town of Port Hedland’s West End fact sheet now labels the hotel demolished and identifies the replacement as a new park managed by BHP. (ABC News, 24 April 2025; Town of Port Hedland, West End fact sheet)
Local reactions to the demolition plan were mixed. ABC reported that some residents valued the hotel’s history and felt a park was an underwhelming replacement, while BHP described its aim as a family-friendly green space that would honour the venue’s legacy. Those comments were made in response to the proposal; they are not evidence of a current consultation. The state planning page records that the demolition consultation concluded. (Western Australian Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage)
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For residents recalling the hotel’s social role, Arnold Carter told ABC: “You’d only be down there about half an hour and your troubles would disappear.” Its physical place in West End is now a park, but the auction announcement and the stories around it show why people wanted to keep objects and memories from the pub.
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