Broome, also known as Rubibi by the Yawuru people, is a coastal pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, north of Perth. The town recorded a population of 14,660 in the . It is the largest town in the Kimberley region.
History Prehistoric Dinosaur footprints dated as Early Cretaceous in age (approximately 130 million years ago) were discovered out to sea at Gantheaume Point in the 1960s. The tracks can be seen only during very low tide. In 1996, some of the prints were cut from the ground and stolen, but have since been recovered.
Yawuru people Broome is situated on the traditional lands of the Yawuru people. In 2006, the Yawuru people were formally recognised as the Native Title holders of their traditional lands and waters, acknowledging their ongoing connection and rights.
Prior to European arrival, the Yawuru people lived a sustainable lifestyle, relying on the abundant resources of their Country. They practiced traditional hunting, gathering, and fishing, utilising their knowledge of the environment to ensure resource availability.
Extensive trade networks existed among different language groups on the Dampier Peninsula and throughout the Kimberley region, facilitating the exchange of goods and knowledge.
European settlement It is often mistakenly thought that the first European to visit Broome was William Dampier in 1688, but he only visited the north of what was later named the Dampier Peninsula. In 1699 he explored the coast from Shark Bay to La Grange Bay, from where he headed north leaving the Australian coast. Many of the coastal features of the area were later named for him. In 1879, Charles Harper proposed the formation of a Government Station at the Roebuck Bay Pastoral and Agricultural Association's site at Cape Villaret, at the south end of Roebuck Bay, to provide facilities for the extension of the Pearl Shell Fishery, and to form a port and base of operations for intending pastoral and agricultural settlers. In 1883, John Forrest chose the site for the town, and it was named after Sir Frederick Broome, the Governor of Western Australia from 1883 to 1889.Broome sweeps in a little luxury
The 1880s saw the commencement of Broome's pearling industry, which initially involved slavery and indentured labour, pearl diving being an occupation reserved for specific ethnic groups, most prominently from Japan and followed by other Asian countries.
The town centre of Broome, now known as Chinatown, developed around the jetties, and had a number of different names through the years. From the early years of white settlement until the Depression of the 1930s, the area was known by some as the Asiatic Quarter, Foreign Quarter or Native Quarter. The white locals favoured the name Japtown, whereas some of the non-white locals simply used the name Town, and indentured crewmen were "content to leave the area nameless", according to local historian Susan Sickert. Later, as the population increased, the name Chinatown stuck.
The character of the town in its pearling heyday was described in the book Broometime: Back in the days of the pearling masters, Broome had several distinct sections. The European population lived in an area of well-spaced houses and shady gardens set back a little from the bay and laid out in a generous grid pattern. A few shops, banks, the post office, were scattered here and there. The local Aborigines mostly camped on the margins, or wherever they could. Eventually an area or two was set aside for their use, and they were expected to keep to them. The 'Asiatics'the Malays, Manilamen, Koopangers, Japanese and Chinese who crewed the luggers and ran the shops and brothels and boarding houseslived in a marshy area near Dampier Creek, close to where the luggers drew up. This was, and remains, Chinatown. It was a lively, chaotic place, especially when the luggers were in and the crew had money in their pockets. Old men would sit around the stoop of the Chinese bakery in Napier Terrace smoking opium smuggled in from Singapore in hands of bananas.
This multi-ethnic environment led to numerous racially motivated conflicts, most notably the 1920 race riots between Japanese and Malay residents, which resulted in eight deaths and at least 60 injuries. The Broome community came to "reflect the hierarchy of the pearling industry, which was based on occupation and ethnicity". White collar occupations and positions of power were exclusively held by Europeans. As a consequence, racial segregation was common in Broome until the 1970s.
In 1889, a telegraph undersea cable was laid from Broome to Banjuwangi, East Java, connecting Australia to England. The name Cable Beach was given to the landfall site.
In the early part of the 20th century, Aboriginal children from Broome were sent to live at the Beagle Bay mission, north of Broome. Children at Beagle Bay were often sent against their parents' wishes, on account of being "half-caste", and many lost contact with their families. George Walter, who was in charge of the mission, described Beagle Bay as "working in the interests of the blacks".
The Australian adventurer and novelist Ion Idriess drew inspiration from his visits to Broome to write his book Forty Fathoms Deep in 1937.
1942 air attacks
Broome was attacked at least four times during World War II as part of the Japanese air raids on Australia. The worst attack in terms of loss of life was an air raid on 3 March 1942 in which at least 86 people (mostly civilian refugees from the Dutch East Indies) were killed, making it the second deadliest Japanese attack on Australia after the bombing of Darwin. Twenty-two aircraft were destroyed, most of them flying boats, the remains of which can still be seen in the harbour at low tide.
Over 200 Japanese residents of Broome, were interned as "enemy aliens" during the war. This included three Aboriginal women married to Japanese residents.
The Common Gate "The Common Gate" is the local term for the fences that defined Broome's town limits. Initially, these barriers were built to prevent livestock from entering the town. However, with the implementation of Western Australia's Native Administration Act 1905, they became tools of racial segregation, severely restricting Aboriginal people's freedom of movement. Until 1954, Aboriginal people could only enter if they had "lawful employment" and they were locked out of the town from 6pm.
1950s to 2000s In 1950, Broome was the setting for Arthur Upfield's novel The Widows of Broome, his 12th novel featuring Detective Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte ("Bony").
Until 1967, Broome's outdoor movie theatre Sun Pictures was segregated, with prime seating only for white people. Malays, Filipinos and First Nations sat on the side or had to stand, and they were required to enter via a separate entrance. As late as 1971, Indigenous people were not accepted into restaurants in Broome. Patrons at the Roebuck Hotel and the Continental were segregated, with Aboriginal people drinking at the front bar at the Roebuck Hotel. In later years, the separated Indigenous bar at the Roebuck Hotel was abolished and it is now The Lounge Bar.
Broome entered into a sister city agreement with Taiji, Japan in 1981 as historic ties between the two towns date back to the early 1900s, when Japan became instrumental in laying the groundwork of Broome's pearling industry. The annual dolphin hunt in Taiji was the subject of the 2009 documentary The Cove, and sparked a unanimous decision by Broome's council, headed by Graeme Campbell, to end the relationship with Taiji if the dolphin hunt were to continue. The decision was reversed in October 2009.Australian town embraces Taiji again
Author Donald Stuart, who first came to Broome for work in the Depression era of the 1930s, described the town as it was in 1983: But no one in Broome today, whether newcomer or old timer, in private enterprise or in Public service, is in any great doubt as to where Broome's future development is heading. The Meat Works, in operation between mid-April and mid-October, is an employer of a considerable staff, and tourism is Broome's fastest growing industry (..) The town is well served by four hotels with first class airconditioned accommodation, two caravan parks with modern amenities and facilities, and plenty of stores, cafes, bars, restaurants, take-away food outlets, and of course curio and souvenir shops.
Lord Alistair McAlpine's Pearl Coast Zoological Gardens was opened in August 1984 to serve the burgeoning tourist industry in the town, as was the Malcolm Douglas Crocodile Park opened that same year. By 1987, tourism started to boom in the town, thanks in part to the bitumen road which had been completed and linked Highway One with Broome and the Kimberley. According to Martin Peirson-Jones, involved with real estate in the 1980s, there was a large shortage of accommodation between Broome and Kununurra, another town which was experiencing arrivals of bus tours for the first time. Land prices also rose exponentially within a short space of time, in reaction to the town's newfound potential, as recounted by Peirson-Jones: "There were large subdivisions taking place and that led to a change of focus in the town. It was interesting to watch the land auction prices rise from hundreds of dollars to thousands and then tens of thousands, all within the space of a few years. As more people came in they wanted more facilities, better roads and were expecting more. Prior to this nobody worried too much and the expectations were not there."
In 1992, the newspaper Broome News (est. 1977) ceased production, whilst on 18 June 1992 the Broome Advertiser began, still existing as of .
In December 1992, roughly 1,000 people gathered at Broome Airport to witness the first international flight arriving from Singapore, carrying 240 passengers. The Broome Advertiser reported that "as the first passengers disembarked, they were greeted by loud cheers and applause from the crowd creating a carnival atmosphere." The flight was the first time a Boeing 767 had landed in Western Australia outside of Perth.
In July 1993, the crew of the Indonesian fishing vessel Bunga Tanjung were apprehended off the Kimberley coast, and charged with fishing for trochus inside the Australian Fishing Zone without a licence. The crew of 18 had been on their way to the Rowley Shoals when found, which they claimed in Broome District Court they had not known was a marine park. From 1988 to July 1993, Customs Coastwatch apprehended a total of 235 illegal vessels in northern waters, of which 197 had come from Indonesia.
2008 to 2013: Save the Kimberley campaign The Broome community led a campaign to protest against a proposal by Woodside Energy to industrialise James Price Point outside Broome with gas refineries. The campaign received ardent support from public figures such as John Butler, Missy Higgins, Clare Bowditch, Jimmy Barnes, Paul Kelly, Xavier Rudd, Shane Howard, Rob Hirst, Pigram Brothers and former leader of the Australian Greens, Dr Bob Brown. The campaign was one of the biggest in Australian history with many actions leading to arrests including 25 in one day on "Black Tuesday", 5 July 2011 when over 100 riot police were sent to Broome to break up a month long blockade. A concert for the campaign was held on 5 October 2012 at Federation Square in Melbourne and was attended by approximately 6,000 people. A long term protest camp operated at James Price Point. One of the campaign points was to protect the significant "dinosaur highway" of dinosaur tracks that are found in the intertidal zone outside Broome. The campaign has since remained a divisive topic amongst locals, with many blaming the "no" decision for the slow economic growth that characterises the region.
Geography Broome is located on Western Australia's tropical Kimberley coast on the eastern edge of the Indian Ocean.
Roebuck Bay