The first European landing was in 1688 by William Dampier, many of the features in the area are named after him.
Broome was founded in late 1880's as a pearling port, initially harvesting oysters for mother of pearl.
1861 was the defining year for Broome's history. A new species, the pearl oyster Pinctada Maxima was discovered in Roebuck Bay and turned out to be the largest pearl shell in the world.
Broome was attacked at least four times by Japanese aircraft during World War 11, the worst attack was on 3rd March 1942, when at least 88 people were killed.
We are having a welcome break here in Broome as we are now staying till the 20 July.
The weather most days has been around 28-29 most days and this caravan park is a nice place to be, the neighbours are very friendly and there are nice little kids running around, without their shoes, just being free and having a ball, climbing trees, riding bikes and just being kids like kids used to be.
Broome is a beautiful town, lots of friendly locals, good shops and lots to see and do.
We have so far been to and seen:
- Sunset Bar and grill.
- The Sun Picture Theatre, Broome's outdoor cinema, the World's oldest Picture Gardens.
- Courthouse Markets, the largest art and craft markets in the Kimberley.
- Gantheaume Point- amazing red rocks meet the beautiful blue waters.
- The Port of Broome, they say it is good fishing, but it was so cold and windy the day we went.
 |
| The Port of Broome on a cold and windy day |
- Streeters Jetty.
- Chinatown where all the good tourist shops are and lots of Broome history.
- Pearl Luggers one hour tour, The Sea, The Men, The Legend.
- Gantheaume Point at extremely low tide to find the fossilised Dinosaur Footprints.
- 'The Roey' for Sunday Roast (The famous Roebuck Hotel)
 |
| The Roey |
and of course
- the famous Cable Beach, by day and the beautiful sunsets
The Sun Picture Theatre/Garden
The oldest operating outdoor theatre in the world’ is the proud claim made by Sun Picture Theatre in Broome.
Sitting on prime real estate in the main street of the town, the building was originally an Asian emporium before it changed hands in 1913 and the new owner, Master Pearler Ted Hunter, had plans drawn for an outdoor theatre seating five hundred people. Work started in 1913 but the theatre was not finished until three years later. It was officially opened on Dec 9th, 1916 with a silent movie.
Fast forward to 1933 when the first movie featuring sound was shown…. ‘Monte Carlo’ starring Jeanette MC Donald and Jack Buchanan.
It must have been a hit with the locals!
Over the years, the theatre has stood the test of time but it has not been with out a few hiccups. Despite war time bombings, tidal floods, cyclones and even a period of racial segregation, this tin shed still remains and the movies still play.
Sun pictures is perhaps the only picture theatre in the world to have been subjected to continual tidal flooding. Many nights theatre goers would lift their feet up whilst the tide gurgled in. Some say that you could catch a fish during screening. A levee bank was built in 1974 to stop the flooding.
During the day, the theatre is open so you can pop in and wander around. A trip down memory lane is provided by the collection of memorabilia on display. Movie posters and old movie reels decorate the walls.
By night, it’s movies under the stars……..and sometimes the planes as they pass low overhead.
Courthouse Markets
The largest art and craft markets in the Kimberley.
The grounds of the Historical Courthouse are taken over with stalls selling everything from locally made jewellery, art, clothing, fresh produce and home made goodies and of course the many many pearl jewellery stalls.
We spent a happy few happy hours here browsing the stalls and enjoying some of the yummy food.
Gantheaume Point
Along the south of the broad expanse of Cable Beach on the Indian Ocean side of Broome is Gantheaume point where deep red rugged rocks are in stark contrast to the impossibly blue waters of the Indian Ocean.
 |
 |
| That's meeeeee! |
About 8kms out of town, this is a very scenic area of red, craggy cliffs, creating fantastic photo opportunities. This is natures colors in all it's glory - deep vivid red earth and rock formations contrasting against crystal clear blue skies and oceans.
Pearl Luggers one hour tour, The Sea, The Men, The Legend.
It is often said that Broome’s pearling industry is as rich in culture as it is in pearls. Here we experienced a fascinating insight to Broome’s unique heritage at Pearl Luggers, in the heart of Broome’s ‘Chinatown’.
We learned about the perils of the deep and discovered first hand what made the pearl divers life so hazardous and what drove so many to put their lives at risk. Was it the riches, the status or just the lure of the pearl?
We viewed two of the last surviving and perfectly restored pearling luggers, the vessel synonymous with Broome, surrounded by a reconstructed tidal jetty and an authentic pearlers store. Filled with memorabilia from actual hard hat diving suits to the hand-powered pumps that fed precious air to the deep sea divers below.
We had a great little tour guide, a young lady who gave an entertaining and enlightening insight into the development of pearling.
 |
| Our tour guide - of course the tour ended up in the Pearl Shop |
We tried to imagine how it would have been in the early days for the deep sea pearl divers.
 |
| Laurie the Pearl Diver |
Dinosaur Footprints
At Gantheaume Point and 30 metres out to sea there are dinosaur footprints dated to Early Cretaceous Age, approximately 130 million years ago. These footprints can only be seen on a very low tide.
 |
| Real Dinosaur Footprints |
The tide was at it's lowest so we climbed down from the high cliff top over the very slippery rock formations almost to the sea level, to see if we could find the footprints.
 |
| We climbed down these cliffs to see the footprints |
 |
| We were lucky enough to find the footprints |
 |
| They are just a bit bigger than Laurie's hand |
Cable Beach
 |
| Beautiful Cable Beach |
 |
| Beautiful Cable Beach |
 |
| Beautiful Cable Beach |
 |
| Beautiful Cable Beach |
.
No comments:
Post a Comment