HISTORY Of The Australian Pearl Shell Industry Part 1/3

HISTORY- THE AUSTRALIAN PEARL SHELL INDUSTRY . P.t 1/3

The Australian pearling industry started in the 1850s at Shark Bay, West Australia, and in Torres Straits in 1868.

By 1890 half the worlds pearl shell demand was coming out of the Torres Straits. These large quantities of shell were sold internationally for the manufacture of buttons and buckles in America, England and even a few years later to Japan.

A boom in the industry was created by the high worth of the shell, with it worth up to 400 pounds for a tonne and workers began arriving from overseas.

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images from the Powerhouse Museum.