Denham Western Australia Australia

Denham is the main town in the Shark Bay World Heritage area, located on the western coast of the Peron Peninsula about eight hours’ drive north of Perth. Enjoy the heritage of the area and the easy going lifestyle of the locals.

Shark Bay received World Heritage listing in 1991 and is one of only a handful of places in the world that satisfy all four criteria for a heritage listing; having an important evolutionary and biological history, unique formations and natural habitats where threatened species survive.

Spectacular coastal scenery at Shark Bay includes the Zuytdorp cliffs, Shell Beach, Cape Peron and unique natural phenomena such as the stromatolites and the Wooramel sea grass bank. Shark Bay has 13 threatened reptile species, three rare bird species, a population of over ten thousand dugongs and significant loggerhead turtle rockeries.

The Hamelin Pool stromatolites are part of the Earth’s evolutionary history with the living microbes building these stromatolites being similar to those found in 3,500 million-year-old rocks which are the earliest record of life on earth.

Monkey Mia is the home of the famous dolphins and is only a 30 minute drive from Denham. Monkey Mia is world-renowned for the visiting dolphins which interact with humans.

Denham received its name from Captain Henry Mangles Denham who charted the bay in 1858 in the HMS Herald. Captain Denham left his mark in the cliff face at Eagle Bluff. A section of this rock was retrieved and relocated to the Pioneer Park in Denham.

Denham has clean, safe swimming beaches, a boat ramp, resort, hotel, caravan parks, self-contained villas, backpackers, restaurants and takeaway food outlets.