Shire of Shark Bay
The Shire of Shark Bay is a local government area of Western Australia in the Gascoyne region. It has an area of and a population of about 950. It is made up of two peninsulas and Shark Bay, located at the westernmost point of Australia. There is one town in the Shire of Shark Bay, Denham, which is the administrative centre for the Shire. There are also a number of small communities; they are Useless Loop, Monkey Mia, Nanga and Hamelin Pool. The Overlander and The Billabong are roadhouses.
History
The Shark Bay Road District was gazetted on 13 May 1904. In 1951 the then current officials were dismissed. On 1 July 1961, it became a shire under the Local Government Act 1960, which reformed all remaining road districts into shires.Wards
The Shire is divided into three wards:- Denham Ward
- Pastoral Ward
- Useless Loop Ward
Towns and localities
The towns and localities of the Shire of Shark Bay with population and size figures based on the most recent Australian census:| Suburb | Population | Area | Map |
| Carbla | |||
| Carrarang | |||
| Coburn | |||
| Denham | |||
| Dirk Hartog Island | |||
| Francois Peron National Park | |||
| Gilroyd | |||
| Hamelin Pool | |||
| Meadow | |||
| Nanga | |||
| Nerren Nerren | |||
| Shark Bay | |||
| Talisker | |||
| Tamala | |||
| Toolonga | |||
| Woodleigh | |||
| Yalardy |
- For the purpose of the 2021 Australian census, Francois Peron National Park was counted as part of Denham.
- Boundaries of national park and locality are not identical
Economy
Major employers include the salt works at Useless Loop along with the fishing industry and the various retail outlets meeting the needs of the tourist industry. There are some 30 personnel employed by the Department of Environment and Conservation and twenty by the Shire. There is a primary school and a Distance Education structured secondary school. Numbers of school aged children fluctuate around the 100 mark. The police station is staffed by 3 officers.Local industries include tourism, fishing, salt, pearl marine culturing, mining of shell grit and various pastoral activities.