South Sea Pearls!
Broome, The Pearl Capital!
 |
 |
 |
| Broome's famous "Cable Beach"! |
| The discoveries of large quantities of pearl shells led to the settlement of Broome in 1883. Men from Asian and Pacific countries came to ply the pearling trade and by 1910 Broome had become the pearling capital of the world. A single drop of rain falling from the heavens finds the heart of an open oyster and a pearl is born. It's what they believed centuries ago. We know better now, but the ancients' myth of nature's creation perfectly mirrors the magic, wonder and romance of the world's most enduring precious gem. The most highly prized and the most valuable of all is the South Sea Pearl with its superb lustre and size. In 1993 a strand of Australian South Sea Pearls sold at a New York auction for a world record US$2.25 million. South Sea Pearls of great beauty and value are the stuff of legend; of hazardous treasure hunts and impossible dreams, of dives into danger, and heartbreak, to find that one, destiny changing, perfect pearl. The South Sea wild oyster Pinctada maxima is the world's largest pearl mother. This matriarch of all Mother-of-Pearl is a solitary lifeform of exceptional environmental sensitivity. This oyster refuses to share it's genius with mass farming methods. To build such beauty it needs its natural environment of space and the warm, uncontami- nated waters that become more scarce with each passing year. Like all great artists it makes no compromises and delivers the purest of all pearls. Providing you with an heirloom to pass on generation after generation. |
 |
 |
| The South Sea wild oyster Pinctada maxima is the world's largest pearl mother. | |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Japanese Pearl Divers Cemetery. The Japanese Cemetery at Broome dates back to the very early pearling years and bears witness to the close ties Japan has with this small north-west town. The first recorded interrment in this cemetery is 1896. During their years of employment in this industry a great many men lost their lives due to drowning or the divers paralysis. A large stone obelisk bears testimony to those lost in the 1908 cyclone. It is also recorded that the 1887 and 1935 cyclones each caused the death of 140 men. In the year 1914 the divers paralysis claimed the lives of 33 men. There are 707 graves (919 people) with most of them having headstones of coloured beach rocks. |
