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30/06/2008: "THE PEARL DIVERS OF BROOME ...... Western Australia"
Dale Chapman took a team of mates to Broome, Western Australia in 1972 and changed the method of collecting pearl shell from hard-hat to modern hookah diving.
Live pearl shell is collected from depths of 20 to 30 meters for use in the cultured pearl industry. Skilled technicians insert plastic implants into a live oyster which then, over a period of time, coats the foreign substance with nacre.
The result is a cultured pearl that is the best quality in the world, thanks to the rich, blue waters of the Kimberley Coast.
A trip to Broome is worth the effort. Especially at this time of the year, the winter months. Chinatown has many pearl boutiques owned by the local pearl farms.
The old cemetery lists hundreds of Asian workers and divers who ended their days here. The dreaded "bends" ruined many lives far too soon.
Broome is the one town in Australia where diving is recognized as the town's foundation. You are not a true diver until you spend a month in Broome.
