After Shark Bay pearl beds succumbed, industry shifted northward to Broome where Pinctada maxima oysters could grow to vast sizes. By 1912 twelve British ex-Navy divers and tenders had arrived – encouraged by a federal government obsessed with its White Australia policy.
Under the White Australia policy, non-Europeans were prohibited from working on luggers; however, exceptions were made for pearl divers causing tensions surrounding racial social hierarchy.
Aboriginal People
Broome waters have long been of significance to local Aboriginal people who valued pearl shell and traded it freely in many forms. After European settlement, indentured labor from Asia became integral part of its pearling industry. These workers were known as ‘naked divers’ because they dove without aids or protective clothing, often to depths of 12 metres or deeper and often under harsh conditions. It was hazardous and demanding work that often left workers exhausted after long days on the water. Aboriginal men and women from the north west of Western Australia were forced to become divers, often by force or deception, dragged far from their homelands by force or deception, then expected to carve specialized oyster shells known as rijis for use as dive tools and remaining underwater for extended periods – which would stun even white employers.
But it wasn’t just the work itself that was hazardous; intense sexual and violent sex onboard pearling boats was commonplace and further made dangerous by sharks and unseen creatures that lurked beneath the waves. Men died due to decompression sickness (the bends), drowning, getting entangled with manta rays or whale flukes or getting the bends (decompression sickness). Furthermore, numerous Asian workers lost their lives working in pearling; their deaths can be found commemorated on tombstones within Broome’s pearling cemetery.
Pearling was an integral economic pillar in Australia’s far north and exempted from Australia’s racist White Australia policy, making the industry all but forgotten amongst our national narrative. But not in its place of birth: pearling has not been forgotten!
As such, pearling in the far north has a complex and interwoven history of Indigenous and indentured workers from South East Asia. This is explored in depth in Marrugeku’s Broome-based intercultural dance theatre production Mutiara; which in Malay means pearl. Mutiara offers powerful and provocative choreographic truth-telling.
Exploring colonialism, racism, exploitation and slavery through music and movement. The performers include Indigenous and Malay performers – who act both as creators and performers – as they take the show from Broome to Sydney and Perth after its initial premiere.
Europeans
Broome’s pearling history dates back to its time as one of Australia’s leading pearling towns. Once bustling, pearling luggers would depart and return according to 10m tide cycles bringing precious Pinctada Maxima mother of pearl for use in buttons and cutlery production.
People of European descent constructed and operated pearling luggers, employing Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Asian migrants as divers. While this work could be hazardous and risky, it was sometimes lucrative – often earning equal yearly salaries to skilled white tradesman.
Broome pearling industry expanded rapidly following the invention of hard hat diving suits in the 1880s, which allowed men to dive more deeply and for longer durations than previously possible. This breakthrough gave pearling enormous commercial potential; and enabled Broome to supply 80 percent of all pearl shell produced globally. However, life on land was hard: sandflies ruled and storms occurred often; while at sea luggers provided an environment conducive to heat, humidity, and disease outbreak.
Early 1900s Australia was generally not open to non-Europeans working there, although Japanese divers were permitted due to their diving expertise. Still, work conditions were extremely demanding and tensions often arisen between white European crew members and Asian crewmates; Asians resided in segregated boarding houses where any misdemeanor involving Aboriginals could result in immediate deportation.
Pearling was traditionally dominated by men, and there have been numerous reports of disputes between pearling masters and their crews. Some women also played key roles, like Mary Dakas who worked aboard Kestrel Mannina in 1907. She earned a reputation as a tough boss who would speak out if her crew displayed inappropriate behaviour; eventually two crewmembers of hers stole an expensive pearl found on the seabed; this crime was traced back to Broome where the perpetrators were eventually convicted of theft.
Asians
By 1914, Broome was providing eighty per cent of the world’s pearl shell and operated 300 luggers with crews from across Asia. Divers were composed of Chinese, Malays, Japanese, Filipinos, Torres Strait Islanders and Torres Strait Islander peoples; Aboriginal Australians, West Australians as well as indentured workers living aboard these luggers for five or six months per year, eating, sleeping and working 14 hour days on the water; this work could be dangerous as decompression sickness could kill them but could also prove very lucrative – especially those skilled enough in doing this work could make great fortunes from it.
As the industry expanded during the 1860s, hard hat diving suits became available that enabled divers to go deeper and remain at sea for extended periods. Unfortunately, pearling remains an extremely hazardous occupation; many lives were lost in its early days.
Early luggers were powered solely by human muscle, necessitating many inexperienced crew members – often young and inexperienced ones – to perform the difficult job of diving for pearls and collecting them. Unfortunately, this labor-intensive job was poorly compensated; Aboriginal skin divers were chained to decks of boats so that they could perform all dives required each day, up to 50 dives daily, sometimes being punished by being hit when failing to meet production targets.
Beginning in the late 1860s and continuing throughout the 1870s, pearling underwent significant change, with indentured labourers from South East Asia recruited into indentured servitude contracts on pearling luggers to ensure sufficient shell was available to European button makers. While this meant their living conditions onboard may have been unhygienic at times, their contributions made an immense difference to its success and was an integral factor to its prosperity.
At the turn of the 20th century, white Europeans attempted to limit Asian participation on pearling boats and prevent them from owning pearling vessels, leading to tensions among various groups. A clear racial hierarchy emerged with white Europeans at the top, followed by Asians and then Aboriginal people; this caused great discontent as evidenced by riots occurring between 1907, 1914 and 1920.
Japanese
At the height of its pearling industry, Broome attracted people from all walks of life in search of work. Settlers, convicts, whalers, merchant seamen, adventurers and prostitutes came from across the globe as they found employment on its pearling beds – from convicts, whalers and merchant seamen to Indigenous Australians working on pearl beds in Roebuck Bay when Shark Bay oysters ran dry; skilled Japanese divers joined Aboriginal, Timorese and Malay divers among other diverse workforces to produce 80 per cent of global pearl shell supplies by 1914 – employing 300 luggers alone!
Pearling first began in Torres Strait waters south of Broome during the 1860s. To harvest oysters in these shallow waters, pearlers required divers who could dive deeper with breathing equipment on. This meant many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women had to leave their traditional homeland in order to work illegally in an industry which required diving deeper than was legal for them.
Royal Navy staging tables were first implemented in Australia in 1912 to help divers ensure safe ascent rates, protecting them from sharks, hidden holes on the seafloor or snagged safety lines. Only several years later did Kokichi Mikimoto patent his method for cultivating cultured pearls, altering its course and positioning Broome as one of the global leaders it remains today.
The Japanese community made an indelible mark on this town and remains visible today; landmarks from their presence such as a peaceful Japanese garden and pool at its centre remain.
But this cultural legacy was interrupted during WWII when Japanese were interned and many left their homeland; after the war ended, however, some returned and today their descendants form an important portion of Broome’s population.
At this exhibition you can gain more insight into the diverse culture and history of Japanese in Broome, including their role in pearling industry and impact on local community. Explore a replica of an old Japanese lugger as well as art and artifacts which showcase diversity and beauty among this population group.