Broome History

Pre 20th Century

Archaeological records indicate that Aboriginal people came to Australia via the northwest of the continent. Stone tools from a campfire confirm that indigenous Australians lived in Western Australia at least 40,000 years ago.

The first white person in Broome's history was Abel Tasman, the famed Dutch navigator who sailed past and charted much of the Kimberley coast in 1644. English explorer William Dampier was the first European to visit Broome's shores in 1688, after sailing north from Shark Bay in the HMS Roebuck, and landing somewhere near the Buccaneer Archipelago.

1861 was a defining year in Broome's history. The pearl oyster pinctada maxima was discovered in Roebuck Bay - the largest pearl-shell type in the world. At the time, buttons, cutlery handles and other objects were made from 'mother of pearl'. It was such a valuable commodity that any pearls found in the shell were only viewed as a bonus. A thriving industry emerged, based largely on the humble button; within only three years the industry supplied 75% of the world's mother of pearl. From the 1860s till the 1880s naked Aboriginal men and women, called skindivers, were collecting the shells up to a depth of 12 metres. These divers hadn't applied for the job; they had been rounded up, chained and marched to the shore where they were crammed onto the pearl boats. They worked in atrocious conditions, were subjected to much brutality, and were dying in scores. Only when the shallower waters had been emptied of shells, and the pearlers acknowledged that it was impossible to go any deeper without equipment, the demand for Aboriginal divers decreased and eventually faded away.

'The Fat Years' of 1889 to 1891 saw the price of mother-of-pearl shell escalate to new highs, establishing Broome as a port often referred to as the Queen City of the North. By 1898, it was the principal cargo port for northern Western Australia and by the outbreak of WWI, the Port of Broome was second only to Fremantle.

Modern

When WWI was declared in 1914, Broome harboured about 300 pearl luggers and had a population of more than 3000 workers. Within a few months the fleet numbers were halved, as men rushed to enlist in the war effort. With excess stocks and luggers going to ruin, Broome's economic situation looked bleak. The English influence and affluence of 'Old Broome' disappeared forever as many socially prominent families chose not to return after the war. Broome had also suffered extensive damage from the cyclones of 1908, 1910 and especially 1912, and much of the town needed to be rebuilt. In the 1920s Broome once again became a vibrant, thriving pearling-industry centre with the price of pearl shell at its highest ever.

War returned to Broome on December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour. Australia instantly joined America in declaring war on the Japanese and almost immediately, all pearling activity ceased in Broome. As in the first World War, men rushed to join the forces and the industry's labour pool vanished overnight as Japanese residents were interned in camps. In January 1942, pearlers were informed that their luggers were to be purchased and unseaworthy vessels destroyed as a provision against a Japanese landing. Shortly afterwards, on March 3, 1942, Japanese Zeros bombed Roebuck Bay and destroyed sixteen Dornier flying boats. Although there were no further attacks, the constant fear of attack was enough to keep Broome residents away and the town languished into decay.

As if all that wasn't enough, in the 1950s a crucial invention hit the market - the plastic button. Pearl shell became worthless overnight. Cultured pearl farms had been in the experimental stages since the mid-'50s and the technology of seeding and growing cultured pearls was just beginning to be perfected, offering some hope for the industry. Slowly, this new version of pearling grew and prospered.

Recent

Eventually, tourism began to emerge as an important business for the town, which offered a warm winter climate, diverse cultural history and white sandy beaches. Realising that Broome had a wealth of opportunities, developers were eager to invest in the town. With the exception of a downturn in its economy caused by the Australia-wide airline-pilots' strike in 1989, Broome continued to grow.

Broome is now synonymous with exotic, tropical beaches and the outdoors; Aussies get a dreamy, faraway look in their eyes at the mention of it. WA's isolation has served the north's largest town well, helping to preserve Broome's frontier feel despite a well-developed local tourist industry.