The town and the peninsula was named Point Samson in honour of Michael Samson, a member of a prominent WA family, who accompanied the district’s first settler, Mr. Walter Padbury, on his journey in 1863. Mr. Samson was the second officer of their ship, the ‘Tien Tsin’, and it was during Walter Padbury’s expedition to Nickol Bay, that the town was named.
In contrast to the peaceful seaside town of today, it had a very active history as a deep water port, handling the third largest annual tonnage in WA. The port of Point Samson and its deep water jetty were built in 1902/03 to service Roebourne, the then boom town of Wittenoom and the developing community of Wickham.
The original T head jetty, nearly 1,900 feet long, was destroyed by a cyclone in 1925. The remaining part of the jetty was badly damaged by Cyclone Orson in 1989 and was completely removed in 1991. A small section was rebuilt on land as a reminder of the jetty’s significant role in the town’s past.
