Pearl fishing in Broome

Australia's pearling industry began long before European settlement. Aborigines

harvested the pearl shell from the shallow waters. They had a good trading network

for pearl shell. Some pearl shell was traded up 500 miles from where it was

collected.

Aborigines also traded with fishermen from Sulawesi. Folklore, songs, cave

paintings and the diaries of Matthew Flinders tell of links between Australia and

Indonesia dating back 500 years.

When Europeans settled in Australia, they quickly saw the value of pearl fishing.

Pearling began at Shark Bay, Western Australia, in the 1850s.

Pear luggers, Broome

Pearl shells were used in the United States and England especially for buttons and

buckles. Quick profits could be made with pearl shell. Pearl shell and 'Mother of

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Pearl' were used to make buttons, cutlery, hair combs, jewellery and inlay for

furniture.

A Pearl diver and crew around 1900

These boom times attracted large numbers of Europeans, South Sea Islanders and

Asians – they came for the adventure, the promise of work and the chance to make

their fortune. In Broome, the largest of these groups were the Chinese. They come as

pearlers, but also as cooks and shopkeepers.

Pearl diving – a dark history

From 1862-68, local Aborigines collected oysters in the shallow waters of Shark Bay.

Within three years, the supply was very low. Bigger boats were sent out two

kilometres off shore to collect oysters. Aboriginal men and women in a boat would

'naked dive' for shell - this meant they had to dive down deep with no oxygen, no

snorkel and no mask. There were many accidents and deaths.

The invention of diving suits changed the pearling industry in Australia. Divers

could go deeper than ever before - they could also stay underwater longer and collect

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more shell and pearls. These divers wore canvas suits and huge bronze helmets.

They were lowered over the boat's side to spend hours underwater.

On the bottom they struggled about in lead-weighted boots. They had to work fast -

divers were paid by the amount of shell they collected.

As the work was very dangerous, the European boat owners employed Japanese

divers. Many of the Japanese divers were used as indentured labour - this means that

they worked for no money to repay a debt, usually their transport to Australia. Many

died before paying off their debt.

Female Japanese pearl divers were the best of all the divers. They collected the most

– they can hold their breath for longer. Some could stay under water for as long as

three minutes. They were called “Ama” (meaning sea-woman).

Pearl divers regularly faced the threat of shark attack – also the dreaded “bends”.

The death rate for divers was 50%. There were also cyclones – from 1908 to 1935,

four cyclones killed around 300.

Setbacks for the industry

Pearl luggers, Broome, 1937 Checking pearl shells 1920s

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By 1913, Broome was booming – there were over 400 pearl luggers, 1000 whites and

3000 of Asian origin. During World War I and World War II, the industry almost

stopped. The industry relied on its Japanese pearl divers. In World War II, these

divers were put in prisoner of war camps.

After World War II, the industry started slowly. Plastic was used for buttons and

buckles from the 1950s. A new cultivation method began –a small plastic ball was

put into the oyster. These are called cultured pearls. Pearls can take two to six years

to develop this way.

They also make “Mabe” or half pearls. They cement half beads on to the inside of

the shell. These can be round, oval, drop or heart shaped.

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The legacy of pearling today

Broome today is recognised as a 'pearl capital'. It is one of the world’s major

suppliers of quality pearls. There is an industry including a hatchery and culturing

facilities. It produced pearls valued at $150 million in 2003-04. Broome cultured

pearls are ready in two years – in Japan it takes four years. Also Broome pearls are

twice as big as Japanese ones.

The architecture and population of Broome is quite unique in Australia. It has a

Chinatown – there are a number of Chinese buildings. Broome is multicultural and

cosmopolitan – a mixture of people of European descent, from China, Japan,

Malaysia, Phillipines and Java, and the local Aboriginals.

The Japanese Cemetery at Broome is the largest Japanese cemetery in Australia. It

dates back to the very early pearling days.

The first recorded burial in this cemetery is 1896. Hundreds of young Japanese

divers died either from the bends (divers paralysis) or from drowning. A large stone

obelisk in the cemetery recalls those who were drowned at sea in the 1908 cyclone. T

he cyclones of 1887 and 1935 each caused the deaths of at least 140 men.

The cemetery has the graves of 33 men who died of divers paralysis in one year -

1914. There are 707 graves (919 people) - most of them have unusual headstones of

coloured beach rocks. The cemetery has been perfectly restored.

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