Broome

18 – 23 May 2022. 10,080 kms.

Yawuru Country.

Broome, Yawuru country, a special place for us, Alex having lived here and me having visited numerous times, now 14 years ago. One of those places that was multicultural before the word existed, a coming together of Aboriginal, Chinese, Japanese, Malaysian and of course white settlers, for the (often perilous) pearling industry. Broome lives and breaths this history still, a town that operates according to the tides, the sun, the mangroves, and good food.

We meandered through Old Broome, wandered down Streeter’s jetty, alongside which different cultural groups once setup their camps. We tiptoed into the gallery at Paspaley Pearls and watched archival footage of the old pearl luggers, divers weighed down with heavy gear, working 12 hour days, 6 days a week, 10 months of the year. Whispers of blackbirding and slavery, riches for settlers.

Lucky enough to arrive on a full moon, we joined the throngs to gaze at the staircase reflected across Roebuck Bay. We explored the oldest outdoor cinema at Sun Pictures, drank mango smoothies at the Courthouse Markets, searched for known Theropod and Sauropod dinosaur footprints when the tide was low as can be at Minyirr (Ganthaeume Point), and admired an Osprey circling its nest atop the ruins of an old lighthouse.

We immersed in a Yawuru tour of the mangroves, reef shoes on, tide low, guided across the mudflats to what is otherwise an island at high tide, searching for mudcrabs, bomb shells, and starfish. Poppy always at the front of the pack, listening to every word shared by our knowledge holder, Talia always at the back, in a squat, playing with crabs and shellfish – a neat summation of their differing personalities! Looking back at a panorama of Broome, we hear how the waterholes were created, soaking up dreaming stories and learning from cultural knowledges.

Back at the campground, we linked up with friends from the road, tuned into the election, had a democracy sausage and celebrated the result – what a relief, some vision, some hope! Campground action was joyous, our non-human friends including campsite neighbour Tawny Frogmouth Owl and little green tree frog.

Next morning we connected with friends, Heather, Eric & family, and reveled in an invite to jump on their boat for a fish, catching a heap of fish, including a little baby reef shark (returned to the ocean)! Talia all in, unshanking fish from their hooks while Poppy squirmed and worried about their livelihoods. Back to their big sprawling, indoor-outdoor Broome abode, we were treated to a feast on the catch and, for fans of the Pigram Brothers, we basked under the shade of the original Mango Tree.

Other iconic Broome moments include Matso’s, the original craft brewery, for mango, chilli, and ginger beer paddles, Nargula Jarndu, a Womens’ Aboriginal Art Centre for divine art and textiles, and of course we splashed and rode camels down on an ever-sparklingCable Beach!

Broome, you have a huge place in our hearts.