Broome Historical Museum

Broome Historical Museum Broome's fascinating past comes to life when you visit one of the best regional museums in Australia.

Our significant collection is housed across three heritage buildings and illustrates the settlement, society and industry of our unique town.

: when "waterfront property" in Chinatown just meant it was high tide. This is the corner of Napier Terrace and Hamersl...
03/09/2026

: when "waterfront property" in Chinatown just meant it was high tide. This is the corner of Napier Terrace and Hamersley Street, c. 1955. The marsh in the middle is now Male Oval. A levee bank built in 1974 finally put a stop to the regular flooding.

📸Jorgensen Family Collection, Broome Historical Society, 2011.860.

Last week we welcomed delegates from the International Network for Translingual Japanese for a guided tour of the museum...
31/08/2026

Last week we welcomed delegates from the International Network for Translingual Japanese for a guided tour of the museum.

The group was in Broome for a workshop exploring maritime communities, language and migration, making Broome’s multicultural pearling history especially relevant. It was a pleasure to share some of that history with visitors from across Australia and Japan.

Broome’s original jetty stretched almost a kilometre into Roebuck Bay from what’s now Town Beach - a long way to walk, s...
27/08/2026

Broome’s original jetty stretched almost a kilometre into Roebuck Bay from what’s now Town Beach - a long way to walk, so it came with its own tramline. Even at that length, ships could only enter and leave on the spring high tides.

Its deepwater replacement opened at Entrance Point in 1966, at which point the old jetty’s services were no longer required. The Public Works Department’s reported 1967 solution was refreshingly low on paperwork: they set it on fire.

📸Barbara Bennett Collection, Broome Historical Society Museum.

🐲 Shinju Matsuri has seen more than five decades of Broome celebrations - and you can revisit them through our digitise...
26/08/2026

🐲 Shinju Matsuri has seen more than five decades of Broome celebrations - and you can revisit them through our digitised festival program collection.

Browse every Shinju Matsuri program from 1970 to 2016, rediscover past events and perhaps spot a few familiar faces along the way.

Take a look through the collection here 👉
https://broomemuseum.org.au/shinju-programs/

20/08/2026

With this year’s Shinju Matsuri Float Parade taking place this weekend, here’s how Broome did it in 1974.

Plenty of familiar Broome faces in this footage - who have you spotted?

Extract from Destination Broome, Brian Williams Productions. Courtesy of SLWA.

Nine luggers, a fleet of spectator boats and a Navy helicopter overhead - the first Shinju Matsuri lugger race, 1970.Wit...
13/08/2026

Nine luggers, a fleet of spectator boats and a Navy helicopter overhead - the first Shinju Matsuri lugger race, 1970.

With Shinju Matsuri nearly upon us, this week's throwback goes back to the festival's opening year, when lugger racing returned to Roebuck Bay. The race revived the regattas of the pearling era, when Broome's fleet numbered in the hundreds and the results were taken very seriously.

Nine luggers entered, carrying crews and paying passengers around the bay. Spectator boats followed, while a Westland Scout helicopter from the survey ship HMAS Moresby flew overhead. Three luggers were disqualified for using their motors at the start. The lugger Richard Male, skippered by Hisao Nakano, won. The trophy is on display in our Shinju exhibition.

The Lugger Race remained a Shinju highlight until 1981, when there were no longer enough working luggers to hold it. By 1984, the program had "land-based lugger races" instead, later known as the Pearlers' Games.

📸 Kohana Ross Collection, BHS Archives

Dale "Chappo" Chapman came to Broome in 1971 as head diver on the John Louis for a trial of ho**ah diving on the pearlin...
06/08/2026

Dale "Chappo" Chapman came to Broome in 1971 as head diver on the John Louis for a trial of ho**ah diving on the pearling grounds, along with a group of competition spearfishermen from the eastern states, to see whether the industry's traditional hard-hat diving could be replaced with something more modern.

The first season was hard going, but within a few years most of Broome's luggers had switched over to the new ho**ah system, which is still what divers use out there today.

This photo shows Chappo checking out Yousef's hard-hat equipment during the trial period.

We’re always keen to add photographs of Broome’s pearling industry, from any period, to the museum collection. If you have any, we’d love to hear from you.

This photo is from the collection donated to the museum by Dale Chapman.

# Streeter's JettyBefore it became a scenic stop, Streeter's Jetty had a job. This early 1970s view shows luggers alon...
09/07/2026

# Streeter's Jetty

Before it became a scenic stop, Streeter's Jetty had a job. This early 1970s view shows luggers alongside during busier times, crews at work and Broome kids swimming off the jetty.

📸Kohana Ross Collection, BHS Archives

Aerial view from the airport across to Dampier Creek - Streeter's Jetty, with luggers alongside, the pearl packing she...
02/07/2026



Aerial view from the airport across to Dampier Creek - Streeter's Jetty, with luggers alongside, the pearl packing shed, Woody's Garage, Streeter & Male Stores, Carnarvon Street shops and backyards, the bakery, Yuen Wing's, Sun Pictures. Dampier Terrace, notably, sold zero pearls back then.

Address

Town Beach Reserve/67 Robinson Street
Broome, WA
6725

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 4pm
Tuesday 10am - 4pm
Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 1pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 1pm
Sunday 10am - 1pm

Telephone

+61891922075

Website

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