Issue 47 Aurora Magazine April 2022

enchant
DISCOVERER IAN RORKE
The Secrets Behind the Denmark River Fairy Doors
STORY DEANNA DAVENPORT | PHOTOS DEANNA DAVENPORT
If you take a walk along the Denmark River and listen carefully, you may hear the tiny
sounds of wing flutters and chitter-chatter. Or perhaps at night you might see the
faint glow of fire light along the riverbank in the distance. However you discover their
presence, all it takes is a little faith, trust and imagination to see the Denmark River
Fairies.
The calm waters of the river and surrounding bush along the Mokare Heritage Trail are
said to be home to a group of the mystical creatures, and their residence in the area is
evident by small wooden doors nestled amongst the bush.
The fairy doors first started popping up in May 2021, with only a small number of fairies
choosing the Denmark River to be their home. Almost a year later, more fairies have
moved in and the river is now home to twenty tiny doors, each with their own unique
design. The doors are mainly crafted from wood with a brightly painted coloured door
to help fairy seekers match the door to its owner, and are commonly found at the
base of trees or higher up the trunk. Newer dwellings might be made from small logs,
complete with tiny windows and a chimney.
Denmark resident and first discoverer of the Denmark River Fairies Ian Rorke was
named the ‘foundation human’ by the fairies after he stumbled across them on a
morning walk.
“I’m a photographer and I was trying to capture a photo of a white egret along the river
on a foggy morning in May,” he recounted.
“And as I was walking around, I heard this tapping noise. I went to investigate and found
these tiny little fairy craftspeople and they were building dwellings for other fairies
because they really liked Denmark and wanted to move in.
“So I got chatting with them.”
Mr Rorke said he was given special permission by the fairies to make doors.
“I look after the maintenance and communication for the fairies,” he said.
The way he described it, the Elder fairies Foo and Dym bestowed upon him the gift of a
hammer to carry out duties of maintenance on the doors and communication between
humans and fairies. Since then, fairy doors have been popping up along both sides of
OPPOSITE PAGE: Fairy door craftsperson Ian Rorke beside fairy Ginny’s door.
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