Port Hedland WA – Dalgety House

Photo – Exhibition – Port Hedland WA Intertidal Reef

29th of September – 07th of October 2018

2018 was the International Year of the Reef, which is held every 10 years. I took the opportunity to raise awareness of the intertidal reef around Port Hedland by hosting an exhibition of photos taken on the reef.

I have explored Port Hedland´s unique fringe reef for the last 10 years from the town side and over to Finucane Island. To make certain that this special treasure will be looked after for a long time, I take people out on reef walks and try to share as much information as I can about the reef and the creatures that live there. I am not a scientist by trade but over the years, and with the help of scientists from the WA Museum, my knowledge has grown and I try to share that knowledge with everyone who is interested in preserving the intertidal reef around Port Hedland.

Only a handful of photos, out of the thousands I took over the years, were shown during the exhibition. Some in A4 size, some framed, and plenty more as photo cards. Many images were displayed on an endless loop via a television monitor. Along with the photos, I displayed information about life on the reef, as well as, some samples of dead corals, sponge, shells and sea urchins. A friend was very generous and allowed me to exhibit the jewellery he creates from shells he finds on his walks along the beach.

To entertain the kids I provided worksheets about sea life. The older children were given a quiz and younger children were provided colouring pages.

The reef photo exhibition was held in the front room of the Dalgety House Museum and the back verandah was used for the children’s activities.

Approximately 30 people attended the opening night of the exhibition on a Friday. After the official opening, which was held in the gardens, the guests walked around the exhibition before spending time catching up with other attendees in the nice cool breeze outside.

From then on Dalgety House was open every day from the 29th of September until the 07th of October, between 9 am and 2 pm. On average 12 visitors came through the door.

Entry to the exhibition was by gold coin donation.

By the end, I had the feeling that the visitors were very much interested in the exhibition and enjoyed browsing, as well as, asking for information about future reef walks.

If you are interested in a reef walk please contact me by e-mail:

doristeufel@web.de

All photos are courtesy of Alicia Schutte.