Arafura Sea, Northern Territory, Australiai

Regional Level Types
Arafura Sea	Sea
Northern Territory	Territory
Australia	Country

The Arafura Sea lies west of the Pacific Ocean overlying the continental shelf between Australia and New Guinea.

The writer came across this as an existing entry. It is not really a mineral locality but does provide an excuse to talk about pearling in Australia.

At various times pearling has been centred at Shark Bay, Nichol Bay, Broome, Darwin and the Torres Straits across northern Australia.

Before European settlement, coastal aborigines in northern Australia collected pearl shell from shallow waters, and traded these with fishermen from Sulawesi. This trade is thought to have started in the late 1700's.

Early explorers noted pearl shells in these regions, and whaling ships traded pearl shell with aborigines or collected it themselves. The European pearling industry began in the 1850's at Shark Bay, on the west coast of Australia, where large numbers of Pinctada Albina were found.

It soon folded and operations moved to Nichol bay and the port of Cossack. Here Pinctada Maxima was collected from shallow waters, generating enormous profits and leading to a pearl rush. Initially local aborigines were employed who would skin dive to the beds. Gradually Indonesians were also brought in. In the 1870's, the Shark Bay field was re-opened by Frank Cadell and Charles Broadhurst, who became embroiled in a scandal for non payment, mistreatment and no repatriation of workers.

The use of Indonesians reached its peak in 1875, but when the Dutch Governor General in Batavia enacted laws to protect workers, their use largely ceased.

Due to overfishing the industry moved to Broome in the late 1880's. Around this time diving equipment was introduced, dominated by Japanese divers. In 1910, Broome had 400 pearling luggers employing 3 500 people, and was the world's largest pearling centre supplying 70% of world demand.

Much of the pearl shell was used to make buttons, however the invention of plastics in the 1950's saw the industry rapidly decline. In 1956 a joint Japanese-Australian pearl farm opened at Kuri Bay, 420 kilometres north-west of Broome, and since another 4 farms have opened in Western Australia.

In the Northern Territory the local aboriginals also traded pearl shell with Sulawesi fishermen. The schooner Sree Das Sair was first recorded collecting pearl shell from Darwin Harbour in 1884. A pearling fleet soon became established in the harbour, and as stocks dwindled near here, boats sought shell from farther afield along the coast. The western grounds near Bathurst Harbour were discovered in 1929 and was fished out by 1939. Later the eastern grounds off Boucat Bay were discovered but fished out by the mid 1950's.

Pearl farms now operate at the Coburg Peninsula, Darwin and Bynoe Harbours. There is also a hatchery in the English Company Islands north-east Arnhem Land.

By 1868 there were 16 pearling firms on Thursday Island in the Torres Straits, which is between Australia and New Guinea. In 1879 the Queensland colony annexed the islands. By the 1890's, the area supplied over half world demand for pearl shell, but was soon overfished and many vessels left for Broome. Poor labour conditions led the Queensland parliament to enact laws to protect workers in 1873. Despite this there was a high death toll across all the pearling locations discussed. By 1907, the islanders owned 18 vessels, and were able to gain further controls and ownership of the industry in the area in the 1930's. Further uncontrolled collecting of the Pinctada Maxima by Japanese cultivators in the 1920's and 1930's led to a serious decline in numbers for the species.

Friday Island in the Torres Straits has a pearl farm set up in the 1950's, and Queensland has 15 pearl culture leases.

Tours operate to pearl farms out of the Torres Strait, Darwin and Broome. There is a pearling museum at Darwin Harbour and Broome. Broome in particular in now a tourist town, where pearls can be bought from numerous outlets. The multi cultural nature of employment in the pearling industry has led to the development of a historic precinct in Broome showcasing an Asian heritage. The Japanese cemetery is hauntingly beautiful.

Other Databases

Wikipedia:	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arafura_Sea
Wikidata ID:	Q128880
GeoNames ID:	1818208

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