Cygnet Bay

It’s all about the pearls!

The Australian Southsea pearl is grown in the world’s largest mother of pearl oyster, Pinctada Maxima. This oyster species thrives and grows along the tropical and subtropical the coast of W.A.  Nowhere else in the world can you find this species in such abundance and size. This natural abundance and the quality of its nacre (the material that the pearl and the inside of the shell is made of ) gave rise to 2 industries the first being the mother of pearl industry which was about selling shell and the second being the cultured pearl industry,  the art of growing pearls.

A visit to Cygnet Bay Pearl Farm was the last thing I did on Cape Leveque. Bilingurr Transit picked me up from Kooljaman at 10.00 am and dropped me at Cygnet Bay 20 minutes later. I did the pearl tour, had a swim in their pool and then had lunch.

The tour was fascinating. It told you everything you ever wanted to know about pearls and made you long to acquire some there and then ( even though I have some lovely ones at home!) This little girl was lucky enough to be chosen to remove the pearl from the demonstration oyster. No-one knew the size or value of it beforehand. It turned out to be worth $90,  so of course her parents just had to buy it for her since her middle name was Pearl.

The shell had to be forced open first, by inserting a peg or wedge into it, and then the oyster and its meat was revealed.

The pearl was placed back in the shell
for a photograph.

It was a "beehive" shape because of its rings.

History.

The large pearl shells were originally worn by Bardi men for ceremonies. The shells were used to cover their private parts in ceremonies. They also carved patterns into the mother-of-pearl shell. This was their form of rock art, since the local sandstone was not suitable. They filled in the grooves with red and yellow ochre.

Early white settlers saw a use for mother-of- pearl: buttons, and later knife handles. Then there was a need for divers to retrieve the oysters from the sea. The first divers suits weighed 80 kilos. Most of the world’s buttons came from Broome pearl shell. Occasionally they found small pearls: one I n every 10,000 shells opened!

In Japan, Mikimoto discovered the art of growing cultured pearls, using the smaller Akoya Pearl. A tiny seed was introduced into the oyster, which then began producing nacre to cover up the unwanted intrusion.

When plastic was invented, the bottom fell out of the pearl button industry. At Kuri Bay, they started making cultured pearls. In 1960, the first pearls were produced at Cygnet Bay: the first Australian pearl farm.

Cygnet Bay's infinity pool.

Lunch: spicy gyoza, plus a celebratory glass
of bubbly. (No alcohol on sale at Kooljaman).

Back in Broome, I just had to visit the Cygnet Bay Shop, where I spent a happy hour being tempted. The largest pearl they ever produced was on display:

This perfect pearl was valued at a million dollars,
but of course they didn't want to sell it.

The comparative size of the Australian Pinctada Maxima
and the Japanese Pinctada Fucata.

Black Tahitian pearls

The Full Moon Goddess, guiding fishermen to
a good catch.

Various designs on mother-of-pearl shells.