The pearling industry in Western Australia stretches back to the mid-nineteenth century, with Broome emerging onto the scene in the mid-1880s. Mother-of-pearl was in worldwide demand for use as buttons, cutlery handles, watch-faces and inlay for marquetry. The rich beds of pearl oysters (Pinctada maxima) off the beaches of the north-west coast provided a ready supply of the sought-after shell.

By the turn of the twentieth century, Broome was a town of enormous wealth derived almost entire...