Shucked Stories
Oysters, tides and tales
Decades before the discovery of gold saw miners flock to Western Australia, the humble oyster sparked its own rush of people hoping to strike it rich.
First Nations people have long valued oysters as a food source and for its shell, which is used for decoration, ceremony and as a canvas for handing down stories and knowledge.
But white explorers didn’t cotton on to the value of the oyster until 1861, when entrepreneurs visiting the Dampier Peninsula in Western Australia saw the Bardi Jawi wearing pearl shell.
They quickly realised its potential to meet the demand from Europeans for buttons, inlay for furniture, cutlery handles, and buckles, and turned Broome into a boom town.
Slave labour, known as ‘blackbirding’ made the oyster shell trade even more profitable, with poor people from nearby Asian countries brought in to free dive for the oysters, alongside Aboriginal people. Pregnant women were favoured as divers.
‘Their theory back then was that when women are pregnant, their lungs are inflated so they could stay down longer,’ says Terry Hunter, a Bardi Jawi man who runs Borrgoron Coast to Creek Tours.
After decades of exploitative work practices, the shell industry collapsed in the 1940s when plastic buttons were invented. In the late 1950s, oysters were again in vogue, but this time for their ability to make pearls.
First Nations people have long valued oysters as a food source and for its shell, which is used for decoration, ceremony and as a canvas for handing down stories and knowledge.
But white explorers didn’t cotton on to the value of the oyster until 1861, when entrepreneurs visiting the Dampier Peninsula in Western Australia saw the Bardi Jawi wearing pearl shell.
They quickly realised its potential to meet the demand from Europeans for buttons, inlay for furniture, cutlery handles, and buckles and turned Broome into a boom town.
Slave labour, known as ‘blackbirding’ made the oyster shell trade even more profitable, with poor people from nearby Asian countries brought in to free dive for the oysters, alongside Aboriginal people. Pregnant women were favoured as divers.
‘Their theory back then was that when women are pregnant, their lungs are inflated so they could stay down longer,’ says Terry Hunter, a Bardi Jawi man who runs Borrgoron Coast to Creek Tours.
After decades of exploitative work practices, the shell industry collapsed in the 1940s when plastic buttons were invented. In the late 1950s, oysters were again in vogue, but this time for their ability to make pearls.
In 1960, with the input of Terry’s great-grandfather, Dean Brown founded the first Australian-owned pearl farm at Cygnet Bay to cultivate pearls.
‘You’d only find a pearl in one in every 10,000 oysters during the mother-of-pearl diving days,’ Terry says.
Farming cultivated pearls would seem to be an easier route than searching for a perfect pearl in the wild, but the hit rate still isn’t great.
‘Let’s say about 95 per cent of the oysters don’t have a cultured pearl. Out of those that do, only 30 to 40 per cent are going to be gem quality, and only 1 to 2 per cent of those will be perfectly round, because we are basically asking nature to create perfect symmetry,’ Terry says.
In 1960, with the input of Terry’s great-grandfather, Dean Brown founded the first Australian-owned pearl farm at Cygnet Bay to cultivate pearls.
‘You’d only find a pearl in one in every 10,000 oysters during the mother-of-pearl diving days,’ Terry says.
Farming cultivated pearls would seem to be an easier route than searching for a perfect pearl in the wild, but the hit rate still isn’t great.
‘Let’s say about 95 per cent of the oysters don’t have a cultured pearl. Out of those that do, only 30 to 40 per cent are going to be gem quality, and only 1 to 2 per cent of those will be perfectly round, because we are basically asking nature to create perfect symmetry,’ Terry says.
The Pinctada maxima oysters used for pearl cultivation have the largest shell, and are the same ones used by the Bardi Jawi to carve their knowledge and stories.
‘We are pearl-shell people,’ Terry says. ‘We don’t do rock art up here – so all our history stories are basically carved onto the shell itself.’
Whilst disease decimated much of the cultured pearl industry about 20 years ago, three pearl farms remain on the Dampier Peninsula, including Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm.
‘Our oysters up here are unique,’ Terry says. ‘They are green-lip oyster, whereas the rest of Australia you get the black-lip Pacific. The colour of the shell determines what colour pearl that species of oyster or mussel is going to create, so our pearls will be more gold.’
The Pinctada maxima oysters used for pearl cultivation have the largest shell, and are the same ones used by the Bardi Jawi to carve their knowledge and stories.
‘We are pearl-shell people,’ Terry says. ‘We don’t do rock art up here – so all our history stories are basically carved onto the shell itself.’
Whilst disease decimated much of the cultured pearl industry about 20 years ago, three pearl farms remain on the Dampier Peninsula, including Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm.
‘Our oysters up here are unique,’ Terry says. ‘They are green-lip oyster, whereas the rest of Australia you get the black-lip Pacific. The colour of the shell determines what colour pearl that species of oyster or mussel is going to create, so our pearls will be more gold.’
Recipe
Terry’s rock oysters
Whilst the meat of a pearl oyster is edible, rock oysters are tastier, especially when cooked on Country under the guidance of Terry Hunter on his Borrgoron Coast to Creek Tour.
Ingredients
Rock oyster
Method
Collect dry spinifex from a nearby hill.
Find oysters hiding under large rocks at the water’s edge.
Stuff the spinifex under the rock and light to create an intense fire that heats the oyster until it pops open – cooked and served in the shell, still swimming in its own smoky, briny juices.
Literally, the freshest cooked oyster you could possibly eat.
Looking for more oyster stories...
Sustainability signal
wukalina Walk | Lutruwita / Tasmania
On the award-winning wukalina Walk, Palawa guides introduce guests to middens, or cultural living sites, formed from shells and other remnants of meals shared by generations past.
'Middens are like a preservation storybook,' says wukalina guide Carleeta Thomas. 'Today we go out into the oceans and overfish because it’s lucrative and we have no idea what others have caught. We’re depleting our oceans through over-fishing.
'Middens told visiting Aboriginal communities what had been eaten in the past, and what should not be eaten as a result, to avoid future shortages. If you saw oyster and clam shells, you’d eat scallops and fish instead, to allow stocks to regenerate. And you never catch more than you need.'
On the four-day wukalina Walk, your meal-plan varies in sync with this philosophy – there’s no set menu; it’s whatever has been sustainably caught or farmed.
Sustainability signal
wukalina Walk | Lutruwita / Tasmania
On the award-winning wukalina Walk, Palawa guides introduce guests to middens, or cultural living sites, formed from shells and other remnants of meals shared by generations past.
'Middens are like a preservation storybook,' says wukalina guide Carleeta Thomas. 'Today we go out into the oceans and overfish because it’s lucrative and we have no idea what others have caught. We’re depleting our oceans through over-fishing.
'Middens told visiting Aboriginal communities what had been eaten in the past, and what should not be eaten as a result, to avoid future shortages. If you saw oyster and clam shells, you’d eat scallops and fish instead, to allow stocks to regenerate. And you never catch more than you need.'
On the four-day wukalina Walk, your meal-plan varies in sync with this philosophy – there’s no set menu; it’s whatever has been sustainably caught or farmed.
Saltwater with a twist
Saltwater Eco Tours | Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Aboard the Spray of the Coral Coast, the flavours of Sea Country arrive one small plate at a time. Oysters are one of the highlights; dressed according to season and local produce.
Creations have included Sydney rock oysters with emerald finger lime and raspberry dressing, and oysters on the half shell with champagne finger lime vinaigrette.
Saltwater with a twist
Saltwater Eco Tours | Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Aboard the Spray of the Coral Coast, the flavours of Sea Country arrive one small plate at a time. Oysters are one of the highlights; dressed according to season and local produce.
Creations have included Sydney rock oysters with emerald finger lime and raspberry dressing, and oysters on the half shell with champagne finger lime vinaigrette.
Shell skills
Beagle Bay Cultural History Tour | Beagle Bay, Western Australia
Around 150 kilometres north of Broome is the Sacred Heart Church, built by unpaid Aboriginal labour under the direction of German missionaries who were under house arrest at Beagle Bay for the duration of World War I. It’s an extraordinary story - and an extraordinary church.
Gleaming white outside, the church's interior shimmers with the mother-of-pearl shells used to decorate the mosaic floor and inlaid pearl shell altar. Robert Dann, a Nyul Nyul man, and son of a woman brought up at the mission, includes a visit to the unique church during his fascinating Beagle Bay Cultural History Tour.
Shell skills
Beagle Bay Cultural History Tour | Beagle Bay, Western Australia
Around 150 kilometres north of Broome is the Sacred Heart Church, built by unpaid Aboriginal labour under the direction of German missionaries who were under house arrest at Beagle Bay for the duration of World War I. It’s an extraordinary story - and an extraordinary church.
Gleaming white outside, the church's interior shimmers with the mother-of-pearl shells used to decorate the mosaic floor and inlaid pearl shell altar. Robert Dann, a Nyul Nyul man, and son of a woman brought up at the mission, includes a visit to the unique church during his fascinating Beagle Bay Cultural History Tour.
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