[4] On 11 July 1979, the American Skylab Space Station re-entered Earth's atmosphere headed for Western Australia and the Indian Ocean.

The Department of Agriculture established a research station at Gibson finding the local soils to be deficient in trace elements and nitrogen.

[7][8][9] The Ngadju's traditional lands are in the east of the shire, along the Israelite Bay, up to Point Malcolm, with some historical conflict between them and the Njunga over the boundaries of the two people.

Prior to the 2005 elections, a 13-councillor setup with North, West and East wards each with two councillors was in place.

The towns and localities of the Shire of Esperance, divided into 32 localities, with population and size figures based on the most recent Australian census:[11][12][13] As of 2023, 92 places are heritage-listed in the Shire of Esperance,[50] of which twelve are on the State Register of Heritage Places.