By Kimberley Putland and Charlie Mills, ABC
While the rest of Australia sweats, 45C is a regular summers day in Marble Bar. Photo: ABC Pilbara: Kimberley Putland
In Australia's "hottest town", a forecast of 45 degrees Celsius or above is business as usual.
The country is in the midst of what weather authorities are calling the most significant heatwave in six years, but residents of Marble Bar, 1,470km north of Perth, are unfazed.
Home to about 200 people, Marble Bar is nestled in the centre of the arid Pilbara region, between the major mining towns of Newman and Port Hedland.
The town first gained international recognition when it set a world record with 160 days above 100 degrees farenheight in the 1923-24 summer.
"This heat for this time of year is just a Tuesday for us," Marble Bar Community Resource Centre manager Bazz Harris laughed.
Even so, with the town's prominent temperature gauge clocking up a reading of 51 degrees earlier this week, residents have shared their tips on how to keep cool in a heatwave.
"We have had a gentleman who purchased 30 bags of ice and filled his blow-up pool with it, and sat on his front porch with a beer," Harris said.
"The trick there - he was butt naked - it was not a sexy sight, but it's what he did to keep cool."
Bazz Harris says people take extraordinary measures to stay cool. Photo: ABC Pilbara: Kimberley Putland
Sleep and hydration key
Pilbara locals enjoy fresh waterholes to keep themselves cool in the long summers, and early showers before the cold tap turns warm.
But for those without access to waterholes, Harris's top tip came down to sleeping habits.
"A good eight hours sleep at night in a cool air-conditioned bedroom and you can deal with the day."
Marble Bar's maximum temperature for this month sits at 51C. Photo: ABC Pilbara: Kimberley Putland
Misting toilet invention
Marble Bar resident John Mladenovich recalled finding a tin shed toilet at an exploration site in the Great Sandy Desert where an automated mister had been installed.
"The thunderbox, they called it," he laughed.
"As soon as you sat on the dunny, it was automatic; they had this mist coming down.
"In the breeze it was almost like you were in aircon."
John Mlandenovich likes to keep cool by drinking a beer and watching the cricket. Photo: ABC Pilbara: Kimberley Putland
On a more serious note, Mladenovich recommended wearing a wet towel over your head, neck and face, or running under the sprinkler.
"But make sure you've got your clothes on," he said.
He also urged anyone sweltering through the current heat to remember to replace their electrolytes when drinking plenty of water.
"One orange, squeezed, a whole lemon and a teaspoon of baking soda - drink that, and you'll feel refreshed," he said.
But most importantly, Mladenovich said sitting in the shade watching the cricket with a beverage in hand was the best way to keep cool.
"One thousand percent, you don't feel the heat," he said.
- ABC
