Some contemporary accounts and some of Hedland's descendants have spelt the surname Headland, although it is not clear that he ever used this spelling.
In early 1863, Hedland discovered the landing at Butcher Inlet (named after the harbour master at Albany) in Tien Tsin (known later as Cossack).
Hedland also noted Mystery Landing, in the estuary of the De Grey River, which was named after his cutter.
There was evidence to show that after his murder the Aboriginal people who attacked him sank his schooner and stole his dingy which they used to escape to the mainland.
[11][12] Port Hedland is known by the Indigenous Kariyarra and Nyamal people as Marapikurrinya, which either means "place of good water" (as told by a Nyamal language speaker) and makes reference to the three reliable fresh water soaks that can still be seen in and around the town, or as the town council's website says "refers to the hand like formation of the tidal creeks coming off the harbour (marra - hand, pikurri - pointing straight and nya - a place name marker)".