Pearl Shellers

Pearlshell
Pearlshell showing button cutouts
Japanese bath excavated in 1998
Ali Drummond at home, Thursday Island, April 1999

The Japanese formed a close-knit community on Thursday Island and settled in an area known locally as ‘little Yokohama’ or ‘Jap Town’. A number of Japanese services grew up around the pearl-shell industry, effectively creating a bridge between ‘little Yokohama’ and Japan. They included services directly related to pearl shelling, such as boat building, a soy sauce factory and public bath-house.

The Japanese also bought food from the local fishermen. Ali Drummond, born on Thursday Island in 1917 and who now lives in the area once known as ‘Malay’ town, recalled how:

The fisherman would come past Jap Town and call ‘Sakana!’ and then he’d come past Malay Town and call ‘Ikan!’ – ‘Fish’ you see – and then go past the Islanders ‘Wapi!’

The fisherman carried sticks on their shoulders with five or six strings of fish on each side. The fish was bought ‘by the string’ and each group of people cooked the fish in their own way.