[2] Meekatharra is a major supply centre for the pastoral and mining area in the Murchison region of Western Australia.
[citation needed] The Peak Hill mining town was founded in 1892 approximately 100 km up the road during this initial gold rush.
In 1901 the Meekatharra State Battery began operation and by Christmas Day 1903 the township had been officially gazetted.
[3][4] In 1906 Alfred Wernam Canning was appointed to develop a stock route from the East Kimberley to the Murchison.
[5] From 1927 until 1931, a railway line operated from Meekatharra to the manganese mine at Horseshoe, some 130 kilometres (80 miles) distant.
Exploration restarted in the area and St Barbara sold out to a company known as Mercator Gold in October 2005.
[7] Mercator Gold then conducted an extensive drilling programme and re-opened the mill, commencing production in early October 2007.
[15] Integrity Coach Lines operates services between Perth and Port Hedland on Tuesdays, stopping in Meekatharra.