Understand
Wyndham sits on the Cambridge Gulf near the confluence of five rivers; the Durack, Pentecost, King, Forrest and Ord Rivers. Spreading itself around the base of the Erskine Range known to locals as The Bastian on the edge of an expansive mud flat, the town is split into two main areas, the historical portside township and the residential Three Mile. Excepting the grandiose landscape, its attractions are decidedly low key, but anyone with an interest in history will find many relics connecting with West Australia's pioneering past.
History
The town was established in 1885 as a major port for the East Kimberley to support gold mining at Halls Creek. Wyndham quickly boomed as ships brought in waves of miners heading off to the Halls Creek goldfields to seek their fortunes.
By 1888 the gold at Halls Creek dwindled and with it, the fortunes of Wyndham. The town became a minor service centre for the growing pastoral industry around the Ord river. By 1912 Wyndham's economy was virtually non-existent.
In 1913 the government began building the Wyndham Meatworks to restart the town's economy. World War I disrupted construction and it was finally completed in 1919. The meatworks was the lifeblood of the town's economy until its closure in 1985. With it many businesses departed to nearby Kununurra.