KEVIN SHIRES

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PEARL'S

• BY
• KEVIN SHIRES
• Broome senior high school

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EARLY PEARLING IN BROOME

• The pearl masters came to brome in the
  early 1870s and began diving for pearls in
  roebuck bay rapidly making brome the pearl
  capital of the world. The Japanese, Chinese and
  islanders were the main divers, along with some
  local aboriginals people. They braved the sea as
  they braved drowning, the bends and the storms
  that come to the Kimberley in the cyclone
  season. Today there Japanese cemetery has over
  900 graves most of them pearl divers.

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Different types of pearls
Here are the 3 of the many pearls in
Broome Blister Pearl Pearls that grow attached
to the inner surface of the oyster or mussel
shell. Mabe Pearl Assembled cultured blister
pearl. When blister pearl is cut from the shell,
the pearl nucleus is removed. The remained hole
is filled with a wax and the open will be covered
with mother-of-pearl. Mabe pearls are not so
durable as blister pearls Keshi Pearls that
grow accidentally in the soft tissue or pearl
culturing by-products after pearl harvest.
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Diving gear

• Skin divers
• The Broome pearling industry originated with
  naked divers, most of whom were Aborigines who
  had to hold their breath and dive for oyster
  shells. This skin diving method existed between
  the 1860's to the 1880's. As time progressed, the
  copper helmet was introduced The aborigines could
  not handle the complexities of the helmet suit
  and they also felt very claustrophobic. Their
  role in the industry was therefore reduced to a
  minimal.

• THE COPPER HELMET DIVING SUIT
• It was a major job in getting the canvas
  suits on, because the diver firstly had to encase
  himself in several layers of woollen underwear
  (to guard himself against the cold), followed by
  the job of putting on the watertight canvas suit
  called the 'dress'. His hands were soaped to
  enable him to pull the rubber cuffs over them,
  the heavy boots were pulled on over the suit, and
  lastly, the copper helmet was put on. This was
  screwed onto the shoulder piece and a glass face
  piece was then attached.

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Cultural effects

• Australia's pearling industry began long before
  European settlement. Northern Australian coastal
  dwelling Aboriginals harvested the pearl shell
  from the shallow waters and had a well
  established trading network for pearl shell.
  Within Australia, pearl shells travelled further
  perhaps than any other item. In Western Australia
  an explorer saw an aboriginal wearing a pearly
  oyster-shell which had travelled at least 500
  miles from its point of origin. When Europeans
  settled in Australia, they were quick to see the
  value of the pearl fields. Pearling began in
  earnest at Shark Bay, Western Australia, in the
  1850s and in the Torres Strait in 1868 with 16
  pearling firms operating on Thursday Island in
  1877.The colony of Queensland recognised the
  value of this resource, and annexed the islands
  in 1879. By 1910, nearly 400 luggers and more
  than 3500 people were fishing for shell in waters
  around Broome

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Science and pearls

• The formation of a natural pearl begins
  when a foreign substance slips into the oyster
  between the mantle and the shell, which irritates
  the mantle. It's kind of like the oyster getting
  a splinter. The oyster's natural reaction is to
  cover up that irritant to protect itself. The
  mantle covers the irritant with layers of the
  same nacre substance that is used to create the
  shell. This eventually forms a pearl.
• So a pearl is a foreign substance covered
  with layers of nacre. Most pearls that we see in
  jewellery stores are nicely rounded objects,
  which are the most valuable ones. Not all pearls
  turn out so well. Some pearls form in an uneven
  shape -- these are called baroque pearls. Pearls,
  as you've probably noticed, come in a variety of
  various colours, including white, black, gray,
  red, blue and green. Most pearls can be found all
  over the world, but black pearls are indigenous
  to the South Pacific.

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References

• http//www.acn.net.au/articles/pearling/
• http//library.thinkquest.org/10236/equ.htmSKIN2
  0DIVERS
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki
• http//animals.howstuffworks.com/marine-life/quest
  ion630.htm
• http//www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/pe
  arling/