Broome Pearl Industry & Gemstone Walk
Explore Broome's pearl industry — the city that produces the world's finest South Sea pearls, with the largest and most lustrous cultured pearls grown in the warm, clean waters of the Kimberley coast since the 1950s.
- 1
Paspaley Pearls Showroom
Paspaley Pearls is Australia's most prestigious pearl company — the Broome family that owns the largest fleet of pearling vessels in the world has its showroom here, selling South Sea pearls that range from the size of a pea to 20mm in diameter.
- 2
Kailis Jewellery Broome
Kailis Jewellery is another Broome pearling dynasty — the family has been involved in pearling since the 1920s and the Chinatown showroom sells pearls direct from their Kimberley farms in a range from loose pearls to fine jewellery.
- 3
Willie Creek Pearl Farm
Willie Creek Pearl Farm north of Broome is the most accessible working pearl farm — the tour shows how nuclei are seeded into the oysters, how the molluscs are cared for over 18-24 months, and the harvest process that might reveal a perfect round pearl.
- 4
Streeters Jetty Historic Pearling
Streeters Jetty on the waterfront was the original pearling lugger base — the heritage jetty is what remains of the working port that once dispatched 400 pearling luggers annually into the Kimberley and Timor Sea in search of pearl oyster shell.
- 5
Broome Pearl Festival
The Shinju Matsuri (Festival of the Pearl) in late August-September celebrates Broome's multicultural pearling heritage — the 10-day festival with Japanese, Chinese, Malay, and Aboriginal cultural events has been running since 1971 and is the social heart of the Broome calendar.
- 6
Short Street Gallery Pearl Art
Short Street Gallery in Chinatown exhibits Aboriginal art from the Kimberley alongside pearl jewellery — the combination reflects Broome's dual identity as an Aboriginal cultural centre and a luxury pearl trading post.