Denham is the administrative town for the Shire of Shark Bay, Western Australia. At the 2016 census, Denham had a population of 754. Located on the western coast of the Peron Peninsula north of Perth, Denham is the westernmost publicly accessible town in Australia, and is named in honour of Captain Henry Mangles Denham of the Royal Navy, who charted Shark Bay in 1858. Today, Denham survives as the gateway for the tourists who come to see the dolphins at Monkey Mia, which is located northeast of the town. The town also has an attractive beach and a jetty popular with those interested in fishing and boating. The Denham region was the second area of the Australian mainland discovered by European sailors, after the western coast of Cape York Peninsula. History On 25 October 1616, Dutch explorer Dirk Hartog and crew came unexpectedly upon "various islands, which were, however, found uninhabited." He made landfall at an island now called Dirk Hartog Island off the coast of Shark Bay. Hartog spent three days examining the coast and nearby islands. He named the area Eendrachtsland 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 explorer Willem de Vlamingh landed on the island. Later explorers included William Dampier, and the Frenchmen Freycinet, Hamelin and Baudin in the early 19th century. 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. 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 (RSL), plus the normal amenities / facilities / social organisations to be found in any small Australian rural town; for example, two grocery shops, hardware, hairdressing salon, two hotels, three caravan parks, various types of holiday