Located in Broome – a pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia – the Broome Japanese Cemetery is an interesting piece of local history. It is a tribute to the contribution that the Japanese made to Broome and it’s pearling industry and also a sentimental reminder of the dangers of the early days of pearl diving.
The first recorded burial in the cemetery dates back to 1896 and is the final resting place for over 900 Japanese pearl divers who sacrificed their lives plying their trade in the lucrative pearling industry. The majority of deaths commemorated in the cemetery resulted from the bends (divers paralysis) or drowning.
The cemetery is an immaculately restored heritage icon with unique headstones crafted out of coloured beach rocks and inscribed in Japanese. There are also a number of unmarked graves scattered throughout the cemetery.
Specialist divers from Japan flocked to Broome in the late nineteenth century to harvest oysters and became an indispensable part of the industry until World War II. Many of these divers originated from Wakayama (southern part of Japan’s Honshu island). People from this region of Japan are historically famous for their abilities as fisherman and divers.
Ironically, Broome was attacked by Japanese aircraft on 3 March 1942.
Where’s Broome?
Nestled alongside the Indian Ocean, Broome is situated in the far north of Western Australia.
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Another tidbit I didn’t know.
I love these kind of posts! I would never have known about this without THIS post.
Very cool!! I Love History lessons
cheers mate! it was surprising to stumble upon this remote township in oz that had such a close historical affiliation with japan.
Those divers sure travel far.
it was a long swim from wakayama.
A great post – I really should get of my arse and visit Broome one of these days. It’s easy to think of the Chinese immigrants coming to Australia for the gold – and so easy to forget (perhaps because Broome is a long way away) about the many Japanese that came in those early days. Thanks reesan!
A very interesting piece of the world with a colourful history. I found the quote below particularly interesting with respect to granting an exemption to the White Australia policy to the Asian workers in Broome:
“In 1901 the Australian colonies federated to form the Commonwealth of Australia; the new federal government initiated the White Australia policy which would have destroyed Broome which relied nearly exclusively on Asian workers, especially on Japanese divers. At that time there were 132 Europeans and 1358 Asians in Broome which was granted an exemption from the provisions of the White Australia policy.”