| Another important thing to note is that the pearling industry nearly disappeared in Broome during the first and second world wars.
When WWI was announced the shell prices immediately tanked. It barely started coming back before WWII decimated it again. Broome was actually bombed by the Japanese in 1942.
However, immediately proceeding the second war the Broome Pearl shell business soared. This is because the pre-war Japanese ships were all gone!
But alas, something as simple as the plastic button was invented in the 1950's, and the shell industry was irreversibly damaged.
PearlsOfJoy.com |