Western Australia For Everyone: Port Denison

Port Denison

Sister town to Dongara, and home to a thriving fishing fleet. In recent years it has grwon in popularity as a holiday destination.

Greenough

Greenough (42 km north) is an all but abandoned historic rural community that developed on the Greenough Plains in the mid 19th century. Essentially a ghost town, Greenough is one of the most interesting historic towns in Australia, it is claimed by some to be the country's best preserved nineteenth century town.

Walkaway

(46 km north) A charming village, the main interest for visitors being the Walkaway Station Museum. Housed in the old railway station building, this museum has an excellent display of regional transport, natural resources, weapons and military relics. Ellendale Pool, 20 km from Walkaway, is a lovely natural pool at the foot of river cliffs and is surrounded by tall shady trees. It makes a lovely spot for a picnic, barbecue or bird watching.

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Where is it?

365 km north north west of Perth and 3 km from Dongara.

History

The area was referred to as Irwin Port (being near the mouth of the Irwin River) in 1866, but when officially named and gazetted the following year later it became Denison. It is believed named after Sir William Denison, Governor of Tasmania, who visited Western Australia in 1851 in connection with the transportation of convicts to the state. The name was changed to Port Denison in 1973 at the request of the Shire of Irwin, as this was the name by which the town was locally known.

The town was for many years the main port for Greenough and the Irwin district which is within the locality's hinterland. Geraldton has now taken over that role and Port Denison has remained a small fishing village.