Broome (pop. 5780) is a coastal town in the south of the Kimberley region. Its wide sandy beaches, warm and sunny climate and turquoise sea have brought this old pearl-fishing town, founded in 1883, a tourist boom and a considerable increase in population. It now claims to be 'top tourism town'. The site of the settlement was chosen by John
Forrest, surveyor-general and first prime minister of Western Australia, and named after the then governor of the state, Frederick Broome. Around 1910 Broome, with some 400 pearl-fishing boats, was the pearl capital of the world, but the development of cultured and artificial pearls led to the decline of the industry. Now there are only very few people who earn their living by pearl fishing.
The Historical Museum in the old Customs House in Saville Street tells the story of pearl fishing. In the Japanese cemetery in Anne Street a tall column commemorates the Japanese pearl-fishers who lost their lives in a cyclone in 1908.
Other features of interest are the Broome Crocodile Park and the Pearl Coast Zoological Gardens, in which most species of Australian parrots are represented. 3km from the town center is Cable Beach, starting point of the cable to Java which provided telegraphic communication with Europe.
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