Denham, Western Australia

The indigenous inhabitants of Denham and the wider Shark Bay area are the Malgana people, whose occupation of the area dates back at least 30,000 years. Their traditional country is about 28,800 square kilometres in extent. In 2018, the Malgana people were formally recognised as native title holders of the area by the Federal Court of Australia, following a 20-year-long legal process. On 25 October 1616, Dutch captain Dirk Hartog and crew, in the ship Eendracht, came unexpectedly upon "various islands, which were, however, found uninhabited." He made landfall on what is now now called Dirk Hartog Island off the coast of Shark Bay. Hartog spent three days examining the coast and nearby islands. He called the area Eendrachtsland after his ship, but the name has not endured. Finding little of interest, Hartog continued sailing northwards to about 22° South, charting the previously unknown coast. In 1697, Dutch captain Willem de Vlamingh, in charge of a small rescue fleet looking for possible survivors from the lost ship Ridderschap van Holland, landed on Dirk Hartog Island. Later European explorers included William Dampier, and, in the early 19th century, the Frenchmen Freycinet, Hamelin and Baudin. The coast remained uninhabited by Europeans until the middle of the 19th century. The first pearls found in Western Australia were discovered in Shark Bay in 1854 by a Lieutenant Helpman, the so-called "Admiral of the Swan River Navy", who found the dense beds of pearl-shell oysters that are abundant there. On 26 January 1952, 59 residents signed a petition to open an airport in the town, as it faced no coastal shipping services, no mail, and no medical services in the town. It was considered “the loneliest town in Australia”. Despite all of this, the town fell short of the 100 resident requirement for a proper airport to be in use, however in 1953, the Minister of Transport and Shipping promised the construction for one. In 1954, the town finally received its first airport, named the Shark Bay Aerodrome. It serviced south-bound Douglas DC-3 flights by MacRobertson Miller Airlines every Sunday. The earlier name to that of Denham was Freshwater Camp when it was a pearling camp. ==Population==

In the 2016 Census, there were 754 people in Denham. 72.1% of people were born in Australia and 84.7% of people spoke only English at home. The most common responses for religion were No Religion 38.3%, Anglican 22.1% and Catholic 18.7%. ==Facilities==

There is a crisis centre, two churches, a unit of the Red Cross, Returned Services League, plus the usual amenities, facilities and social organisations found in any small Australian rural town, such as grocery and hardware shops, a hairdressing salon, hotels, caravan parks, various types of holiday accommodation, butcher, and tourist and souvenir shops. There is also a restaurant called Old Pearler Restaurant. Social organisations include a bowls club, golf club, speedway, arts society, film club, pistol club, bridge club, crafts group, youth association and facilities for various sports such as netball, cricket and football. There is no resident doctor, but a full-time nurse is in charge of the local Silver Chain Nursing post. Currently a medical practitioner flies in for two days once a week. Emergency services, such as Fire Brigade, Ambulance, State Emergency Service and Marine Rescue, are operated entirely by volunteers. Electricity is provided by a wind-diesel power plant. In 2020, Western Australia’s remote energy provider Horizon Power embarked on a ground-breaking hydrogen demonstration project to replace the diesel generators, with a trial commencing in late 2022. ==Tourism==

The tourist industrywhich functions mainly from April until September results in an influx of over 250,000 people passing through the shire on the main North West Coastal Highway, of which approximately 110,000 go to Denham and Monkey Mia. The stretch of road linking the highway with Denham is known as World Heritage Drive. A number of tour operators have land- and water-based operations using both Monkey Mia and Denham as their base. Ocean Park Aquarium is located south of Denham, and has Western Australia's largest shark lagoon. It is one of the very few places in the country where tiger sharks can be seen, and the daily shark feedings are a major visitor drawcard. ==Transport==

There is an all-weather airstrip, Monkey Mia Airport (also known as Shark Bay Airport). Regional Express Airlines operates regular services as the main tourist fly-in for Denham and Monkey Mia. ==Twinned Town==

Denham is twinned with Denham, Buckinghamshire in the United Kingdom. ==Climate==

Denham has a semi-arid climate typical of the Gascoyne. Summers are warm but, due to the coastal influence, are not as hot as areas further inland. The majority of Denham's rainfall occurs in winter due to cold fronts moving in from the Indian Ocean. However, the town receives far less rainfall from those systems than areas further south, such as Geraldton and Perth. The period from September to March is largely rainless, apart from erratic thunderstorms and the influence of occasional tropical cyclones. {{Weather box ==See also==