It’s raining men in ‘Port Manland’

The Pilbara is officially the manliest place on mainland Australia, according to the latest population estimates.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released last week revealed some areas in the region had a ratio of almost 3.5 men to every woman.

According to the statistics, WA and the Northern Territory were the only States or Territories to have more men than women.

But when compared to the rest of the nations’ regions, the Pilbara stood out as a place where there were 174 blokes for every 100 sheilas, which suggests the place should be raining men for single ladies.

The Pilbara had the top three areas in the country where there were more men than women.

Things are particularly bad for single blokes in the East Pilbara. There were 3.49 men for every woman, ahead of 2.34 for every one in Roebourne, and 2.28 to every female in Ashburton.

The closest areas from the rest of the country were Casuarina-Wellard in Perth and Berrimah in Darwin, both with big men’s prisons.

Things are a little better in the main centres of the Pilbara, such as Karratha, where the ratio is 1.44 men to every woman; Newman where it is 1.4 to 1; and Hedland at 1.41 to 1.

Despite the abundance of blokes, after an informal Facebook poll conducted by the North West Telegraph to suss out exactly how easy it was for a single lady to get a date, singles of both sexes declared they had a rough time trying to meet someone while living in the region.

One eligible Hedland woman by the name of Jodie described one date where the man turned up drunk, brought his friends and did not realise when she left.

Jodie was joined by a chorus of other women who said they had been caught out by fly-in, fly-out men who told them they were single, only to find out later their prospective partners had families in other towns, States or even countries.

Another long-term Hedland woman, who had her fair share of bad luck with the opposite sex, was rather bewildered theTelegraph wasn’t aware of the town’s other moniker.

“We all know it’s Port Manland,” she declared.

Meanwhile, the situation was not much better for the blokes, given the overall East Pilbara ratio of 3.49 of them to every female in the area.

Single Wedgefield workers Brendan Meiforth, Brodie Thompson, Brent Marnane and Jacob Oakman, who theTelegraphconned into having a photo taken with single lady Jess O’Dea to illustrate the ratio, said most nights at the local pub were a “sausage fest”.

The four, who have lived in Hedland for four to 19 years, said half the time when they tried to speak to females, the words “my partner” were quickly dropped into the conversation.

Or when they did spot a single lady, she would quickly retreat to her “pack of six to eight” friends in the corner of the pub.

TheTelegraph ’s Facebook poll also returned plenty of stories of love — people who had met in the Pilbara, married and had children.

The consensus was that whether male or female, it was difficult, but not impossible, to find a life partner while living in the desert … and that someone should probably organise a speed-dating night.