Along Western Australia's remote northwest coast, turquoise tidal waters clash brilliantly with the rust-red shores. Amongst these juxtaposing hues, the seas produce some of the world's finest South Sea pearls, and for well over a century have turned a once-rugged stretch of coastline into a global centre of luxury and craftsmanship.
Few places on earth have become as intertwined with a single industry as the Kimberley is with pearling. For travellers exploring the Kimberley, a visit to a working pearl farm isn't just a sightseeing stop. It's a window into one of Australia's most fascinating and enduring industries.
Why the Kimberley's waters are perfect for growing pearls
It isn't luck that the Kimberley became pearling's global capital; the region's marine environment is perfectly suited to cultivating the Pinctada maxima, the largest pearl shell in the world, for several reasons.
- Extreme tidal movement. Kimberley waters experience some of the biggest tides on the planet, with a range of up to ten metres between high and low tide in places like Broome. This constant tidal flushing keeps the water moving dynamically through estuaries and bays, oxygenating it and delivering a steady supply of nutrients to the oysters.
- Nutrient-rich, clear water. The pristine coastal waters offer clarity and nutrient-rich currents that create ideal conditions for pearl-producing oysters, allowing the Pinctada maxima to filter-feed efficiently and grow rapidly.
- Warm, stable temperatures. Moderate water temperatures year-round support the health and steady growth of the oysters, which is essential for building thick, lustrous layers of nacre around a nucleus over several years.
- Remote, unpolluted waters. The Kimberley's isolation, hundreds of kilometres from major population centres, means the oysters grow in some of the cleanest ocean water left on earth, free from industrial run-off or heavy shipping traffic.
Together, these conditions allow the Kimberley's oysters to grow larger than any other pearl oyster species, and to produce pearls with a size, weight and glow that pearl farms elsewhere in the world struggle to match.
What you’ll experience on a pearl farm tour
Jewellery collector or not, visiting a working pearl farm is one of the most popular experiences in the Kimberley. These fascinating glimpses into a farming practice like no other combine education, scenery and a little bit of glamour. A typical visit includes:
- A tour of the oyster nursery, where technicians explain how oysters are collected, cleaned and prepared for seeding.
- A demonstration of pearl seeding, the delicate surgical process, which is still based on techniques developed over a century ago, where a technician inserts a small bead nucleus into the oyster to trigger pearl growth.
- A scenic cruise on the water, past long-lines of oysters suspended in their natural tidal habitat, often with sightings of local wildlife such as saltwater crocodiles, barramundi and brolgas.
- A live pearl harvest, watching pearls cut fresh from the shell, which can be one of the most memorable few seconds of any Kimberley trip.
- A visit to the showroom, where you can browse and buy pearl jewellery sourced directly from the farm you've just toured.
Whether you're on a Kimberley expedition cruise or a self-drive holiday out of Broome, a pearl farm tour is widely considered an essential piece of understanding the region.
The Paspaley Pearl at sunset. © Pearl Expeditions
Exclusive access at Kuri Bay aboard Paspaley Pearl
For travellers who want more than a standard shore excursion, Kuri Bay is a working Paspaley pearl farm, and Paspaley Pearl's 30 guests are among the few travellers who can visit it.
Kuri Bay is home to one of the oldest pearl farms in the Kimberley and today it's run by the prestigious Paspaley Pearling Company, the largest pearling operation in Australia. Paspaley has been pearling for almost 100 years, and Kuri Bay remains its most significant pearl farm.
Access to Kuri Bay is tightly controlled, which is exactly what makes a visit here so special. Pearl Expeditions, sailing aboard the purpose-built vessel Paspaley Pearl, offers one of the only ways for travellers to experience it. The boutique Paspaley Pearl carries just 30 guests and is small enough to reach even the most remote destinations.
Highlights of the Kuri Bay experience can include:
- A private, behind-the-scenes pearl farm tour, giving guests exclusive access to experience the world's premier pearl operation firsthand, something few outsiders ever see.
- Freshly harvested pearls, straight from the shell. Only the most spectacular pearls are selected for Paspaley's luxury jewellery collections, and guests have the rare opportunity to select and purchase a keepsake from the very place it was grown and harvested.
Silversea's excursions to Willie Creek Pearl Farm
For those cruising the Kimberley coast with Silversea, a visit to Willie Creek Pearl Farm is consistently listed among the top things to do when the ship calls into Broome.
Just 40 kilometres north of Broome, Willie Creek is a protected tidal estuary that provides the ideal growing environment for the Pinctada maxima oyster behind the famous South Sea pearl. On the tour, guests can watch as oysters are seeded and learn how pearls are appraised for shape, lustre and value, then browse the farm's showroom of handmade jewellery featuring Broome pearls, Kimberley diamonds and Western Australian gold.
Willie Creek's proximity to town makes it one of the most accessible pearl farm experiences in the Kimberley, and a natural fit for a shore excursion when time in port is limited. For those starting or ending a cruise in Broome, the farm is accessible by road for pre- or post-cruise excursions, should a visit not fit into your itinerary.
A coastline’s history built on pearls, one grain of sand at a time
Pearling has truly shaped the Kimberley since the late 1800s, when pearlers first turned their attention to the rich waters of Roebuck Bay and founded Broome as a base for the trade. It was here that the Pinctada maxima oyster, the largest pearl shell in the world, was found.
By 1910, Broome had become the largest pearling centre in the world, helped along by newly introduced diving suits, fertile waters and a booming international market for pearl buttons. At the height of the boom, Broome supplied around 80 per cent of the world's pearl shell, which was used for much more than designer jewellery. Mother-of-pearl was commonly used for buttons, hair combs and even cutlery handles at the time.
The industry nearly disappeared in the 1950s when plastic buttons replaced mother-of-pearl shell almost overnight. Its survival came down to a Japanese innovation: cultured pearl farming, a technique pioneered in the early 1900s. The first pearl farm in the Kimberley was established at Kuri Bay in Camden Sound in 1956, a joint venture between the Japanese, Americans and Australians. By 1973 Kuri Bay was producing around 60 per cent of the world's large South Sea pearls. That single development transformed the region from a shell-diving frontier into the birthplace of modern Australian pearl farming, and cemented the Kimberley's reputation as the source of the planet's most prized cultured pearls.
