| Denham Western Australia | |||||||||
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 A view of Denham from the air | |||||||||
  Denham | |||||||||
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| Coordinates | 25°55′37″S113°32′02″E / 25.92694°S 113.53389°E /-25.92694; 113.53389 | ||||||||
| Population | 723 (UCL2021)[1] | ||||||||
| Postcode(s) | 6537 | ||||||||
| Elevation | 9 m (30 ft)[2] | ||||||||
| Area | 53.2 km2 (20.5 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
| LGA(s) | Shire of Shark Bay | ||||||||
| State electorate(s) | North West | ||||||||
| Federal division(s) | Durack | ||||||||
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Denham is the administrative town for theShire of Shark Bay,Western Australia. At the2016 census, Denham had a population of 754.[3] Located on the western coast of thePeron Peninsula 831 kilometres (516 mi) north ofPerth, Denham is the westernmost publicly accessible town inAustralia, and is named in honour ofCaptain Henry Mangles Denham of the Royal Navy, who charted Shark Bay in 1858.[citation needed] Today, Denham survives as the gateway for the tourists who come to see the dolphins atMonkey Mia, which is located 23 kilometres (14 mi) northeast of the town. The town also has an attractive beach and a jetty popular with those interested in fishing and boating.[citation needed]
The Denham region was the second area of the Australian mainland discovered by European sailors, after the western coast ofCape York Peninsula.[citation needed]
On 25 October 1616, Dutch explorerDirk Hartog and crew came unexpectedly upon "various islands, which were, however, found uninhabited."[This quote needs a citation] He made landfall at anisland now calledDirk Hartog Island off the coast ofShark Bay. Hartog spent three days examining the coast and nearby islands. He named the areaEendrachtsland after his ship, but this name has not endured. Finding little of interest, Hartog continued sailing northwards charting this previously undiscovered coast to about 22° South. In 1696 the Dutch explorerWillem de Vlamingh landed on the island. Later explorers includedWilliam Dampier,[4] and the FrenchmenFreycinet,Hamelin andBaudin in the early 19th century.
The coast remained uninhabited by Europeans until the middle of the 19th century. The firstpearls 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-shelloysters that are abundant there.[citation needed]
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.[5]In 1954, the town finally received its first airport, named theShark Bay Aerodrome. It serviced south-boundDouglas DC-3 flights byMacRobertson Miller Airlines every Sunday.[6]The earlier name to that of Denham wasFreshwater Camp when it was apearling camp.[7]
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%.[3]
There is a crisis centre, two churches, a unit of theRed Cross,Returned Services League, plus the usual amenities, facilities and social organisations found in any small Australian rural town, such grocery and hardware shops, hairdressing salon, hotels, caravan parks, various types of holiday accommodation, butcher, and tourist and souvenir shops. There is also a restaurant calledOld 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 asnetball,cricket andfootball. There is no residentdoctor, but a full-time nurse is in charge of the local Silver Chain Nursing post. Currently[as of?] 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 awind-diesel power plant. In 2020, Western Australia’s remote energy providerHorizon Power embarked on a ground-breakinghydrogen demonstration project to replace the diesel generators,[8] with a trial commencing in late 2022.[9]
The tourist industry – which functions mainly from April until September – witnesses an influx of over 250,000 people passing through the shire on the mainNorth West Coastal Highway of which approximately 110,000 actually come into the communities including Denham and Monkey Mia.[citation needed] The 150-kilometre (93 mi) stretch of road linking the highway with Denham is known asWorld Heritage Drive.[10]
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 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of Denham, and has Western Australia's largest shark lagoon. It is one of the very few places in the country wheretiger sharks can be seen, the daily shark feedings are a major visitor drawcard.[citation needed]
There is an all-weather airstrip,Monkey Mia Airport (also known asDenham Airport andShark Bay Airport), which hasRegional Express Airlines operating regular services as the main tourist fly-in location for Denham and Monkey Mia.
Denham is twinned withDenham, Buckinghamshire in theUnited Kingdom.
Denham has asemi-arid climate typical of theGascoyne. Summers are warm but not as hot as areas further inland due to coastal influence. The majority of Denham's rainfall falls in winter due to cold fronts moving in off theIndian Ocean; however, the town receives far less rainfall from these systems than areas further south such asGeraldton andPerth. The period from September to March is largely rainless apart from possible erraticthunderstorms and influence fromtropical cyclones.
| Climate data for Denham | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 46.5 (115.7) | 47.0 (116.6) | 46.2 (115.2) | 39.5 (103.1) | 36.5 (97.7) | 30.0 (86.0) | 29.0 (84.2) | 31.5 (88.7) | 37.0 (98.6) | 42.0 (107.6) | 42.0 (107.6) | 44.1 (111.4) | 47.0 (116.6) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 30.7 (87.3) | 31.9 (89.4) | 31.1 (88.0) | 28.6 (83.5) | 25.7 (78.3) | 22.9 (73.2) | 21.7 (71.1) | 22.5 (72.5) | 23.9 (75.0) | 25.7 (78.3) | 27.7 (81.9) | 29.2 (84.6) | 26.8 (80.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 22.1 (71.8) | 23.0 (73.4) | 22.1 (71.8) | 19.7 (67.5) | 16.4 (61.5) | 13.9 (57.0) | 12.7 (54.9) | 13.3 (55.9) | 14.9 (58.8) | 16.8 (62.2) | 18.7 (65.7) | 20.5 (68.9) | 17.8 (64.0) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 14.0 (57.2) | 15.9 (60.6) | 14.0 (57.2) | 11.9 (53.4) | 8.5 (47.3) | 7.5 (45.5) | 5.5 (41.9) | 6.7 (44.1) | 8.0 (46.4) | 7.8 (46.0) | 10.0 (50.0) | 12.5 (54.5) | 5.5 (41.9) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 7.6 (0.30) | 15.4 (0.61) | 14.9 (0.59) | 13.7 (0.54) | 36.5 (1.44) | 54.4 (2.14) | 39.6 (1.56) | 21.9 (0.86) | 8.1 (0.32) | 6.0 (0.24) | 3.0 (0.12) | 2.3 (0.09) | 223.3 (8.79) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 0.2 mm) | 1.0 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 2.1 | 4.9 | 7.0 | 7.1 | 5.6 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 36.8 |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 320 | 285 | 280 | 245 | 215 | 180 | 205 | 235 | 250 | 300 | 315 | 325 | 3,155 |
| Percentagepossible sunshine | 77 | 79 | 75 | 71 | 64 | 56 | 61 | 67 | 70 | 75 | 78 | 77 | 71 |
| Source:Bureau of Meteorology.[2] | |||||||||||||
Material was copied from this source, which is available under aCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.