Shell bricks

Building material

Tiny shells make solid houses

The still and hypersaline waters of Shark Bay’s Shell Beach provide just the right environment for these tiny white shells from the fragum cockle to thrive. Trillions of these tiny shells line the beach here in deposits up to 10 metres deep. Back in the early 1900s Shark Bay residents would come to the beach to cut out heavily compacted shell bricks to build houses in nearby Denham. While most of these buildings no longer stand, you can still see examples in Denham’s Anglican Church and Old Pearler Restaurant today.

Available at:

Shark Bay World Heritage Discovery and Visitor Centre

A rich and fascination cultural and natural heritage revealed

Few places in Australia could boast the rich and fascinating cultural and natural heritage of Shark Bay. This stunningly beautiful and remote peninsula boasts more than 30,000 years of Indigenous...

Address:

53 Knight Tce
Denham WA 6537
Australia

Tel:

1300 367 072

Email:

sbdc@sharkbay.wa.gov.au

Open Hours

Mon to Fri 9am - 4.30pm; weekend hours vary seasonally

Return to collection to read more

Shark Bay World Heritage Discovery and Visitor Centre Overview

Shipwreck coins

Carpets of silver

These coins were among the long-lost treasures of the Dutch East India ship Zuytdorp, which was wrecked on remote and treacherous cliffs north of Kalbarri in 1712. The ship was carrying a rich cargo...

Costume

Fashionistas’ finery

Such finery was the attire of choice for fashionistas of the 16th and early 17 centuries. Men, women and children donned ‘ruffs’ such as this one upon their necks - the thickness and detail of the...