Rio Tinto exports large volumes of iron ore, especially Pilbara blend through the port, and in September 2010 announced plans to expand capacity.

[9][10][11] In 1699, Dampier, in command of the 26-gun warship HMS Roebuck on a mission to explore the coast of New Holland, following the Dutch route to the Indies, passed between Dirk Hartog Island and the Western Australian mainland into what he called Shark Bay.

[12] The town was built from 1965 onwards, to serve the railway transporting iron ore from Tom Price and Paraburdoo.

[13] The Burrup Peninsula, or Murujuga, which means "Hip Bone Sticking Out" in the Yaburrara language, is home to what is believed to be the largest collection of petroglyphs (ancient rock art) in the world.

[14] There is a hugely diverse marine ecosystem around the islands, including whales, dugongs, turtles, coral, and sponges.

The port of Dampier was opened in 1966, when the first iron ore from the Mount Tom Price mine was transported via the Hamersley & Robe River railway to Parker Point and loaded on ships.