RICHES OF THE DEEP

Evening Star, Issue 20993, 6 January 1932, Page 10

RICHES OF THE DEEP

PERILS OF PEARL FISHING [By Geobgb H. Johnston, in the Melbourne ‘Argus.’] The rising sun was just tingeing the low coastline of Broome, in the north of Western Australia, as a little fifteenton ketch hoisted her canvas, with a rattle of halyard blocks, sheeted home her headsails, and, swinging around to the westward, slipped gently away for the pearling grounds before a favouring offshore breeze. The growing light disclosed a scene of great activity. From all parts of the anchorage came the sharp clap of canvas, the creaking of blocks, the shouting of orders, and the almost imperceptible swish of gently-parted waters as a score of luggers followed _ in her wake. _ It was a picturesque sight for the visitor, but a mere commonplace to the handful of mixed residents of Broome. The pearling luggers _ customarily carry a crew of about eight men of varied races—Japanese, Malays, Koepangers, Timorese, Chinese. The getting of the pearls and the shell may be done either by the dangerous and primitive form of swim-diving—at which the Japanese are particularly adept—or by the use of the more modern and safer diving apparatus. Given favourable weather, a diver equipped with diving apparatus may spend an hour or two at a time in 50ft of water, but, as the depths become greater, the maximum time of submersion is considerably reduced. To remain in thirty fathoms (180 ft) for more than a few seconds is attended by the gravest danger. Sharks take heavy toll of the natives engaged in swim-diving, but the man with modern equipment has little to fear from them. Diamond fish are a menace in some waters, and octopuses and giant clams also are dangerous upon occasions. Although the trade depends chiefly upon the collecting and sale of the mother-of-pearl shelly the layman is far more interested in the occasional discoveries of beautiful pearls. The silverlip shell is the most valuable. It is found in North Australian waters, between Exmouth Bay and Townsville. This bivalve often contains pearls, but even the shell is valuable. Then there is the more common and inferior blacklip shell, and the Shark Bay,_ which is sought for pearls. The shell is usually allowed to rot. These pearls are almost of small size, but they are of a beautiful lustre, often being straw-coloured.

Probably the most valuable pearl ever found in the _ north-western fisheries was the magnificent “ Star of the West,” brought up in 1917 —a gem as large as a sparrow’s egg, valued at £14,000. The remarkable pearl known and admired as the “ Southern Cross ” was fished up off Baldwin (W.A.) as far back as 1883. It is formed of nine distinct pearls, and it was found joined together in the form of a cross an inch and a-half long. Taken individually, the pearls are great in neither size nor beauty, but the extraordinary formation makes the “ Southern Cross” of high value. Pearls may be procured in a wide variety of colours,

ranging from white, yellow, grey, and red, to black, bronze, light brown, dark brown, blue, violet, and purple. Most exotic colours, however, are found in foreign waters. Australian pearling is comparatively a recent industry. An American sailor named Tays had settled in Western Australia, and in 1861 he gathered and sold pearlshell which he had found washed up on the beach at Nickols Bay. For some time this beachcombing was the only form of pearling. _ Later aborigines were employed to dive. In ten years a fleet of a dozen vesels was employed in the trade, and by the outbreak of war more than 300 luggers were scouring the waters of Northwestern Australia, seeking the riches of the deep. The Torres Strait fisheries have to thank Captain “ Bill ” Banner, master of the brig Julia Percy, for having pioneered pearling there, for in 1868 he began operations at Warrior Reefs. Seventeen years later saw a collection of more than 200 luggers trading in and out of Somerset and Thursday Island. The vessels usually left port with provisions for about three months, and a little before that time had elapsed they would return to replenish stores.

The worst tragedies of the pearling industry are those in which cyclones and willy-nillys wrought havoc among the midget vessels of the fishing fleet. “ Wind and rain ” is the literal translation of the aboriginal term 44 willynilly,” and that is a sufficient description. These titanic storms are preceded by > and uncanny, brooding stillness, in which _ the slightest. sound carries almost incredible distances; then comes the ever-increasing howling shriek which heralds the arrival of the gale. On Christmas Eve of 1875 such a storm caused the loss of several pearlers and fifty-nine men on the north-west coast. In April, twelve years later, there occurred at Wallal one of the costliest tragedies of this stormy region. The signs of a “ big blow ” were very eviand the anchored luggers made feverish preparations to stave off disaster. The sky, which had been of a peculiar, leaden hue, slowly changed to a sickly green, and over the motionless waters the sounds of activity on_ the pearlers came with startling distinctness in the ominous hush. Suddenly came a distant whine, which rapidly grew in volume, until the whole atmosphere seemed to be echoing to a howling shriek which drowned all speech. A slight gust of hot air gently moved the palm fronds. Then, with a swish and a roar, the storm burst. Trees were uprooted, buildings were hurled along the ground like playballs, and a swirl of cutting sand obliterated all traces of the straining pearl fleet. Before the blow ” had run its course eighteen luggers had been driven ashore or sent to the bottom, and 140 men had lost their lives. Seven years after this terrible storm forty men went down in a cyclone off lloeburne. In 1908 a gale struck Broome on April 26. It lasted until the next day, demolished the pearling fleet, and occasioned the loss of about fifty lives. Two years afterward Broome was again the scene of the loss of twenty-six luggers and fifty lives. The most disastrous event in tho history of Australian pearling occurred in Queensland, one of the very few serious pearling accidents on that coast. On March 5, 1899, tho entire pearling

fleet was anchored on Bathurst Bay; when a fearful cyclone struck the coast.; What a terrible time the men on the luggers must have had! Few lived to tell of their experiences, for the whole fleet was wiped off the seas, and more than 350 men were killed or drowned*