pearlshelling

Only a handful of Torres Strait luggers remain From 1863 to the 1980s hundreds of pearling vessels worked the East and West coasts of Queensland, Torres Strait, and for some years in the Aru Islands of Indonesia. Of these, we believe that there are only 14 identified Torres Strait pearling luggers, 1 former pearl shell carrier, and 2 formers Torres Strait missionary vessels remaining. Recent losses include the 112-year-old Lugger GRAFTON A49 - the wreck of her hull removed from Port Douglas in February 2019 and FLORIA whose end is imminent. TORRES PEARL Formerly named SEDNEY, the Torres Pearl is currently located in Tasmania in private ownership. She has an aft-wheelhouse and those lugger lines. Source: pearlingluggers.com.au/last-of-the-luggers

Goods Island, located between Cape York and New Guinea and close to Thursday Island, is said to have been named by Captain Matthew Flinders, whilst traveling through the region. The name is said to have been bestowed in honor of his gardener/botanist on the voyage, Peter Good. Over time, the present spelling of Goods came into more common usage, giving us the present name of the island. Goods Island was identified from as early as the 1880s as an ideal location for a lighthouse, particularly in view of the increases in shipping at the time. A light at Goods Island, it was argued, would point out the position of the entrance to Normanby Sound and the Prince of Wales Channel, thereby improving safety for shipping. As a result, a temporary light was put in place in 1883 and maintained as part of the pilot station. The Queensland government Port master at that time, George Poynter Heath was however soon arguing for a more powerful light to be put in place, on a permanent basis. Source; www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/queensland-places-goods-island

Pearling Luggers of the Torres Strait By Christina Ealing-Godbold, Research Librarian, Information Services | 19 November 2014 Typically, a pearling lugger had two or three divers, two or three tenders to operate the air pumps, a cook, an engineer, and two sailing crew. The divers, who were mostly Japanese, risked their lives in rubberised canvas suits, heavy boots laden with lead, and helmets with thick glass. The divers were paid according to the amount of shell they collected, so every minute on the bottom was precious. Their lives were in the hands of the tenders above, who operated the air pumps to keep them alive. Initially, pearl shell was easily located in shallow waters. However, by 1871, a diving suit was designed, allowing access down to 20 fathoms. As the pearl shell was collected over many years, the remaining shell deposits were at increasingly greater depths, and by the end of the 1930s, divers were going down to 40 fathoms in areas such as the Darnley Deeps. Few Australians could be attracted to the perilous occupation of pearl diving. The bends killed many of the divers, as did shark attacks. In 1916, the official death rate in workplaces in Queensland was reported as 1.1% of the workforce, contrasting with the 10% quoted for pearl divers. Cyclones were also a threat to the safety of the pearling fleets, with one cyclone in1899 sinking more than 50 luggers, and killing 300 men. Source: www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/pearling-luggers-torres-strait

Cooktown A peaceful, tranquil location inhabited only by nomadic Aboriginals for thousands of years prior to becoming Cooks Town. Cooktown was later named in 1873 in honour of Captain James Cook, who in 1770 beached the HMB Endeavour on the Southern banks of which he later called the Endeavour River (Wabalumbaal) to undertake repairs after running aground on one of the many reefs that fringe this coastline. Despite the developments and industrial activity that took place, today the region in many respects remains as is it was 1000’s of years ago. By the late 1800s, Cooktown was a busy commercial port which underpinned its existence for welcoming supplies and dispatching the regions produce whether it was gold, beef or timber. With the development of roads and alternative transportation regions south of the Cape like Mossman, Port Douglas, Mareeba, Cairns and Atherton outgrew Cooktown. By the early 1990s, Cooktown’s economic windfalls had all but disappeared. With time new modern minerals were found and new industries were created and our little village sprang to life again to become the capital of Cape York. Pearling Australia’s pearling industry began hundreds of years ago with Aboriginals harvesting abundant shallow water pearl shells from waters of the north coast of Cape York. By the time of European settlement, the Aboriginals had a well-established trading network for pearl shells, both within Australia and with Beach-de-mer fishermen (collectors of sea-slugs) who, since the late 17th and early 18th centuries, visited northern Australia to trade with the indigenous inhabitants of this remote coastline. Interestingly, in 1812 the first Australian pearls were discovered in Queensland waters by Captain William Campbell. The first recorded harvest of pearl shells from Paumoto Archipelago followed in 1814. Cooktown and most of Cape York once boasted a large fleet of Pearl luggers to service the roaring trade that followed, Beche-de-mer fishing (Sea Cucumber) Source: www.mungumby.com/things-to-do/regional-history/