Mosaics Around Oz - denham

DenhamPopulation: 1,200
Highways: North West Coastal Hwy. (1)
Nearest Capital City: Perth 830 km. south

About denham

Denham is on a peninsula in the mid north, west coast of West Australia and is at the centre of a World Heritage Area, Shark Bay. It is also the touring centre for the wonderful experience of swimming and wading with dolphins in the waters at Monkey Mia. To reach Denham you turn west from the North west Coastal Highway at the Overlander Roadhouse and travel 79 kilometres, past the Hamelin Pool, where you will see an old telegraph station (1884) and the unique Stromatolites in the shallows of Shark Bay. You will then paDenham Street Starfishss Shell beach, covered in tiny shells and on to Denham. the Francois Peron National Park is above Denham on the Peninsula and is renowned for its beauty. The world heritage area features Dugongs, a rare and ungainly seal like mammal of which there are around 10,000 in the marine park. 

mosaics in denham

Denham features some rather attractive community mosaics. They start at a roundabout at the eastern end of the town’s main street, Knight Terrace, and continue at regular intervals along much of the footpath to Eastern Roundabout Dugongs the roundabout at the western end of the street. The mosaics depict many of the animals who call Shark Bay home – ranging from wedge-tailed eagles and bilbies to dolphins, dugongs and the ubiquitous tiger shark.

These mosaics were an initiative of the Shark Bay Arts Council, the Shire of Shark Bay and the local community, and were facilitated by Irene Osborne, an artist who travels to Denham about once a year to undertake community art projects. They were constructed by local residents, most (if not all) of whom had no previous mosaic experience. The footpath pavers were completed in 2002, and the roundabouts in 2003.

MAANZ would like to send a huge THANK YOU to MAANZ member Stephanie Pfennigwerth for sending in these photos and telling us a little bit about Denham. Stephanie is a mosaic addict from Hobart, Tasmania, living and working in Denham on a 12-month contract. Undaunted by the distance, Stephanie brought most of her mosaic stuff with her, and is currently working on a mosaic sculpture of a bird-like creature. She is trying to figure out how to get this concrete and mosaic creation back to Hobart when she leaves. Maybe she'll decide to donate it to the town of Denham, which obviously has an appreciation for mosaic art! It's a thought! Thank you Stephanie!