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Queensland Places - Torres Strait - History of Pearling By JOL Admin | 25 June 2015 The first commercial pearling station in the Torres Strait area was established at Warrior Island in 1868, by Captain Banner, who was said to have identified large quantities of pearl shell whilst looking for beach-de-mer. As pearl shell was a more valuable commodity than beche-de-mer, news of the lucrative alternative soon spread. By 1876, more than a hundred boats were working in the industry, and more than a thousand men were employed. The pearl industry has often faced difficulties outside of its control, such as unpredictable price or demand fluctuations or shortages of suitable, skilled labor. For instance, in the ten-year period between 1881 and 1891 prices fell significantly, forcing many skilled operators to leave the industry. Japanese divers and other workers took their place and were to become a mainstay of the industry right through until the beginning of the Second World War. A further dislocation to the industry occurred in 1885 when a large part of the Torres Strait fleet moved to Western Australia to work the rich sources of pearl shell in the vicinity of Broome. A major calamity also struck the industry in 1899 when many luggers and workers were lost when two devastating cyclones hit Princess Charlotte Bay. The industry did recover to some extent in the late 1920s when there was a general boom in demand for a wide range of marine products, including pearls and pearl shells, but this was to be short-lived, with the industry declining again in the post Depression period of the 1930s. The beginning of the Second World War and the war with Japan had a devastating effect on the viability of the industry with this being exacerbated by the post-Second World War development and use of plastics, further dampening the demand for pearl shells. In the 1960s the industry revived due to the successful development of cultured pearls by the Japanese and the establishment of a number of cultured pearl farms at various locations throughout the Torres Strait. Source: www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/queensland-places-torres-strait-h...

The Thursday Island group comprising Thursday Island (TI), Horn Island, Prince of Wales, and Hammond Islands is uniquely diverse and multicultural compared to the other Island Clusters because of the colonial and historic influences of the pearling industry and the different cultures and people who have settled on these islands. The Thursday Islands Cluster has distinct cultural characteristics which define them as a region and people. The islands were an important strategic airbase in World War 2 with Horn Island being home to over 5000 troops. Today, with a population of 539, it is the air hub for the outer islands and the Cape. Prince of Wales Island is the largest of the group while TI (only 3km²) is the administrative capital, 30 km off the tip of mainland Australia. Although it lacks its own fresh water supply, the island was selected for its deep harbor, sheltered port, and proximity to major shipping channels. One of 17 inhabited islands in the straits, TI was once a major pearling center, resulting in today's cultural mix of Southeast Asians, Europeans, and Islanders. Hammond Island became the pearling station headquarters for a short time until its relocation to Thursday Island and early in the 20th-century gold was also mined. A cattle industry was set up later to supply the population of Thursday Island. In 1929 the need was seen to establish a Catholic Mission on Hammond Island for the children of the Filipinos and Malays whose forefathers were brought to the Torres Straits as indentured labor. Source: www.nla.gov.au/research-guides/torres-strait-islands-coll...

Hook Island is one of the 74 Islands in the Whitsunday Island chain, located off the east coast of Queensland in Australia. The Whitsundays Islands are known as being the home of Whitehaven Beach, Hill Inlet Lookout, and many coral reefs, as well as their many beautiful islands. The islands are a popular tourist destination, bringing in people from all over the world to explore, sail and relax. Hook Island itself is known for its amazing snorkeling and picturesque bays where you will often find boats anchored and people enjoying the warm waters. Off the shores of Hook Island, you will discover famous reefs at Maureen's Cove, Luncheon Bay, Butterfly Bay, and Manta Ray Bay, which are all known for their diverse corals, and colorful marine life, and calm waters. The sheltered bays offer an ideal anchorage place, with many boats mooring there for the night for a calm overnight stay. A popular tourist destination, Hook Island was settled in 1910 and became part of the national park in 1936, whereupon it eventually became home to the Hook Island Wilderness Resort. Hook Island is 58 square kilometres and is now only inhabited by one person who is the caretaker of Wilderness Resort, which still remains as the only habitation on the island. Long since closed, the resort was once one of the most affordable island accommodation in the Whitsundays, but is now a cluster of dilapidated buildings. It was also home to an underwater observatory, which was a big draw to the island resort when it was open and was once considered to be "the greatest tourist drawcard ever to be established in the Whitsunday area." It offered guests the chance to see the underwater world up close, with fish and corals seemingly within reach as they descended to the ocean floor. The observatory consisted of an above sea level section and an underwater section that was ideal for viewing corals and marine life and was enclosed by concrete and glass. When the observatory was originally constructed in 1965 over 200 cars were sunk in the area to encourage coral growth and provide a habitat for fish, making it a diverse marine landscape in later years. While it was once the main attraction, the observatory was closed in 2009 after the submarine viewing chamber was found to have insufficient ventilation. Hook Island remains one of the top places to visit in the Whitsundays, but currently, visitors generally stick to the reefs around the island, Marcona Inlet or Nara Inlet, enjoying the beauty that the waters and the underwater world have to offer. Source: sailing-whitsundays.com/article/hook-island-in-the-whitsu...

Butterfly Bay is on the north side of Hook Island and is the deepest indentation of all of the bays that make up the top of the island so is the most protected. You need good light to enter to see the reefs that crowd the bay. At low tide, it is only the mooring basin that has any water as all the sides of the bay dry out! There are several Marine National Park Moorings here and you need to use them. This is a beautiful spot with mountains surrounding the anchorage and there is fairly good snorkeling on the outer edges of the bay. It is better around the corner to the east however such as in Maureen Cove and Manta Bay. Daytrip boats take their guests to these bays to snorkel & scuba dive. Source: www.venturefarther.com/mapObject/MapObjectSharedInfo.acti...

Dobo was a trade hub connecting various trade points in the eastern part of Oost Indie, as the Dutch called it during the colonization period. It linked Banda, Ambon, Gorom, Tual, and Papua and contributed to the fortunes of traders in exotic commodities exclusively found in the east. Although in the past, many praus (wooden boats) embarked from its port, today the economy in Dobo is not as advanced as those of its neighboring islands, such as Ambon. Source: www.insideindonesia.org/photo-essay-looking-for-dobo