Archaeological research suggests that Aborigines have inhabited Shark Bay for between 4,000 and 5,000 years. This is a relatively short period of time compared to their occupation of the rest of Australia, which is believed to have been up to 40,000 years, and the reason is simply that the whole of the area was still under the sea until about 6,000 years ago.

Archaeological research also suggests that Aboriginal tribes have never inhabited Dirk Hartog, Bernier, and Faure Islands, and this is surprising, as Dirk Hartog in particular, is such a large island separated only by a narrow channel (South Passage) from the mainland.

On October 25, 1616, while on a voyage from Holland to Batavia aboard the ship Eendracht, Captain Dirk Hartog dropped anchor off what he thought was a headland of the southern continent at about 25 degrees south latitude. The headland was actually an island and is today known as Dirk Hartog Island. After landing, Hartog inscribed a pewter plate with details of his visit and left it nailed to a post on the northernmost point, at what is now known as Cape Inscription.

Dirk Hartog Island is quite large at about 75 Km long, and up to 20 Km wide at its widest point. Early explorers described the island as being bleak, waterless, and inhospitable. When viewed from the ocean, the western side is fearsome to say the least, with its high rugged sandstone cliffs fronting the swells rolling in from the Indian Ocean. The Eastern Shore fronts Denham Sound and consists of a series of bays and inlets which host a multitude of bird and sea life. Turtle Bay at the north end of the island has sandy beaches at the foot of high limestone cliffs, where turtles come ashore to lay their eggs. Large numbers of Dugongs and their young graze on seagrass in the shallow Louisa Bay, and are so many the locals refer to the area as Dugong Flats