Friday, 29 May 2026
The Spinifex Hotel was very busy last night. We managed to secure a car park inside the compound, but other drivers were resorting to parking in the aisles. That was one reason we decided to walk the short distance down to the Derby Marsh, because we were worried that we wouldn’t get the truck back inside the compound for the night, if we took it out. Bernie overheard other guests talking about being in town to attend a gala. We were unsure if the event was being hosted at the hotel or elsewhere? When we were out wandering around at sunset, we saw people descending upon a venue decked out with party lights and displaying banners for the Mary Island Fishing Club. That would be the gala event then.
We were delighted to have a washing machine in our room, which enabled us to wash several loads of washing last night to freshen everything up. We hadn’t done any washing since El Questro some nine days ago. We’ve sweated A LOT since then, I dropped food on me, Bernie dropped food on himself and rubbed his shorts against the muddy car so, we were very much in need of washing some clothes!
We also washed our microfibre beach towels, those cheap and nasty bath towels we bought in Kununurra and our tea towels. Ahem, our tea towels went in white/cream with blue cows on them. They came out pink with blue cows on them. Yup, one of those cheap bath towels was pink and we had a colour run mishap. Luckily it only affected our tea towels and not anything that mattered. The only thing that hasn’t been washed is the truck. There’s no car wash in Derby. Not that we have been able to find anyway. It looks like we will be driving a filthy dirty vehicle until Broome.
This morning we didn’t have an alarm set, but woke up by 7.30am anyway. We really were in no hurry today … since there’s not much to do in Derby! Originally we were only going to stay one night but, when we were juggling the itinerary around a bit, we ended up with a spare night. With Broome already booked we decided to add the night here rather than try to change our Broome booking.
The Wharfinger House Museum opened at 10.00am, so we wandered over soon after opening time. We were greeted by Billy, this morning’s volunteer. We have learnt a new word, discovering that Wharfinger is an old-fashioned word for Harbour Master. Derby was officially named a town in 1883 and people and goods all came and went by ship. By 1885 Derby was declared a warehousing port with a 30-metre wooden jetty and an iron shed 1.85 metres square.
The stations in the Kimberley were running sheep at this time and the wool was shipped out of Derby. In 1901 a Wool Shed was built to store wool bales awaiting shipment to Perth, Singapore and London. The shed still stands today, opposite Wharfinger House, and is one of the oldest buildings in Derby. The WA Government appointed the position of Wharfinger in 1909 to manage the wharf, but it took until 1928 to complete Wharfinger House as a residence for Derby’s Wharfingers.
The building is an example of 1920s housing adapted for the tropical north with wide verandahs, roof ventilation, mosquito-proofed areas and French doors to provide cross ventilation to the inner rooms. Originally the verandahs included shutters to protect against cyclones.
The house served as the residence for Derby’s Wharfingers until 1962, after which it fell into disrepair. It was restored as part of a 1988 Bicentennial Project then used as an artist studio before becoming a museum in 1990. The museum houses the usual eclectic collection of old equipment and household items. There were some interesting personal stories and newspaper clippings about local individuals, the RFDS Derby outpost and Charles Kingsford-Smith’s adventures. There was a room dedicated to bringing the telegraph to Derby and details of ships of note that operated from Derby. With no gold coins on us, we left an inordinately huge donation in the paint tin. Next time they open it they are going to be pleasantly surprised.
We walked back to the hotel to pick up the truck for a quick drive out to Derby Wharf. The old jetty was demolished and a new steel-framed concrete jetty constructed. Passenger services ended in 1972 and the port was closed in 1983. In 1997 Derby Wharf was reopened for barging operations to export minerals and to service the Cone Bay barramundi farm. The wharf remains the heart of the town, a favourite place for locals to relax, fish for mud crab and barramundi, enjoy spectacular sunsets and witness the huge (12-metre) tidal range.
The tidal range at Derby is the second highest in the southern hemisphere and the sixth highest in the world. We were there around midday when it was close to high tide. The water was incredibly muddy and murky looking. We are hoping it looks better at sunset when we plan to walk back out to the horseshoe-shaped jetty and wharf along the Derby Wharf Wetlands Walk which is also known as the Sculptures on the Marsh Trail. We explored the sculpture trail at the town end of the walk last night, but tonight we plan to walk all the way out to the end.
Back to the hotel via Woolies, the BP and Rusty’s Bakery. After doing several loads of washing we were right out of laundry detergent sheets so needed to re-stock. Bernie topped the truck up with diesel while I squeegeed the front and rear windscreens, ready for the drive to Broome tomorrow. And the bakery to buy FRESH salad rolls. After so many dried out servo sandwiches, our salad rolls – with beetroot! – were delicious.
We had a lazy couple of hours. It was pleasant having a bit of downtime after keeping up a pretty hectic schedule for last week or so. We watched the quiz shows and got a head start on processing photos and writing up the travel diary before fitting in Split o’clock mid afternoon. When it comes time to re-stock our ice-creams, it’s going to be a real toss up between raspberry Splits and pine-lime Splices.
With the sun setting so early, and a half hour walk out to the jetty, we set off just after 4.30pm. It was a relief to find that the intensity had gone out of the sun already, as it slipped towards the horizon. We arrived at the wharf to find gazebos, tables and chairs set up and a speech being made by an indigenous speaker. It appeared that the event was drawing to a close, so we made our way through quietly to photograph the sunset. Asking Google now, I find that the event was a Walk for Reconciliation between 4.00pm and 5.00pm, so we did indeed arrive just as it was finishing up. At least we weren’t making as much noise as the council workers loading the traffic management signs back on the truck as the formalities wrapped up.
The sunset didn’t seem as red tonight and I didn’t think the jetty was as picturesque as the sculptures. It was good exercise though and it was very pleasant walking in the cool of the evening after another fine and warm day. When we caught some news earlier, it seems that this far north-western part of Australia is the only warm, dry part of the country at the moment. From what we’ve heard it has been wet along the whole east coast, South Australia and Tasmania and Perth is preparing for a once in five years cold front over the weekend.
Reflecting on the westbound leg of our journey I am amazed by the amount of time we spent hiking in the great outdoors without seeing a snake. There was a snake on the road back at El Questro but – we were safely in the truck and, we didn’t actually see it, we were only told that it slithered across in front of us. I am very happy to have travelled though the Kimberley without seeing a snake. May that trend continue as we make our way down the west coast.
It is much quieter at the Spinifex Hotel tonight without the fishing club taking every room at the inn.
Steps: 14,555 (9.52kms)
