One of Australia’s most popular tourist destinations, Broome, with its fascinating history, stunning landscapes, and vibrant culture is the perfect place to escape the cold and chilling southern winter.

Beaches and Ocean Views

Around the year 1889, a 1650 kilometre undersea cable connected Broome to Banjoewangie in East Java, thereafter to the rest of the world, thus turning a base camp for pearlers into a town. The cable entered Broome via “Cable Beach” hence the name of this world-famous magnificent beach.

Stunning ocean views and cooling breezes are never far away. Broome’s Port area has easily accessible beaches where dinosaur footprints can be seen during very low tides.

A short drive from the port area, Broome’s Lighthouse sits on the raw and rugged Gantheaume Point which offers wide views of the Indian Ocean over stunning rock formations.

Broome – built on buttons!

Once acclaimed as the “Pearl Capital of the World”, Broome’s past is intricately tied to its pearling industry. In the 1800s, “Mother of Pearl” shell was used not just for making buttons, but for many household objects such as cutlery handles and hair combs.

Sadly, the maltreatment of Indigenous and Asian pearl divers caused many deaths as the pearl-masters satisfied their lust for wealth.

Ten metre tides, strong currents and wild weather added to the already hazardous occupation of the Roebuck Bay pearl divers.

Broome’s One Day War

On the morning of the 3 March 1942, a Japanese air raid destroyed twenty-two aircraft sitting in Roebuck Bay. On their return flight the Japanese intercepted a Royal Dutch East Indies Airline DC-3 with 12 passengers and small parcel containing, in today’s values, over 10 million dollars of diamonds. The pilot managed to land the plane on a remote beach 100 kilometres north of Broome. A day or two later, local beachcomber Jack Palmer sailed his old lugger into Carnot Bay to investigate and found the diamond package. Jack was reluctant to hand the gems in to authorities and eventually Palmer and his two mates faced the Perth Supreme Court in May 1943 charged with stealing. Somehow, they were acquitted, and Jack Palmer returned to Broome to purchase a house and a blue chevolet! Until his death in 1958 at the age of 63, Jack always seemed to have sufficient cash on hand, once chipping in to pay the late wages of twelve local wharfies!

Tourism

Ever popular with tourist between May and September, Broome is a favorite destination for European “backpackers” who nowadays mostly travel around in their own vans and wagons.

Recent upgrades and beautification of Broome’s parks and gardens include the Roebuck Bay Lookout at the south end of Dampier Terrace in Broome’s “Chinatown”.

Fishing

Popular with local and visitors alike, fishing around Broome is a great way to enjoy the warm sunny weather.

Crocodiles!

Malcolm Douglas (1941 – 2010) was an Australian wildlife documentary film maker, and crocodile hunter. Douglas started in the 1960s as a professional crocodile hunter and farmer, but later dedicated himself to their preservation and establish a wildlife park and refuge at Broome which feature some of the largest saltwater crocodiles in captivity.

As well as various crocodiles and alligator species of all ages, the Malcolm Douglas Wildlife Park has an interesting display of birds.

A drive around broome

Broome’s Port services the region’s growing oil and gas, agriculture, and cargo industries and is, for the most part, accessible by the visiting public.

Broome’s streets are generally wide and uncluttered make it easy for visitors to navigate around the town’s mostly flat terrain. Whilst the Chinatown shopping precinct has been renewed in recent years, fine examples of the early tropical style buildings still exist often on very large blocks of land.

As the day draws to a close, many locals and visitors will make their way to Cable Beach to watch the sun go down on another day is this tropical paradise.