In the 1880s, the discovery of pearl shell in Roebuck Bay attracted many workers and migrants to Broome, including significant numbers from Japan, China, Malaysia, Timor and the Philippines. By the 1890s, Broome had become the centre of the pearling industry in Western Australia, and by 1910 it was the world’s largest pearling centre.¹ 

A settlement, known as Broome’s “Japtown” prior to World War II (WWII), and later as “Chinatown”, developed along the foreshore near Dampier Creek, where pearling luggers could be moored and serviced. Many of the Japanese and other workers and migrants from Asia in Broome worked as pearl divers and labourers, enduring harsh and dangerous conditions in search of the valuable pearl shell. Despite these risks, the industry flourished, and this area became Broome’s social and commercial heart, with many Japanese and Chinese merchants supplying goods and services to pearlers, divers, lugger crews and associated businesses. The pearling industry was exempted from the White Australia Policy. As a result, the town had a majority Asian population until WWII.² Many descendants from these families continue to make significant contributions to Broome’s vibrant multicultural community to this day.³  

Many of Broome’s Chinatown’s historic buildings were modest one- and two-storey structures with wide verandahs, corrugated iron walls and roofs, storm shutters and elevated floors. These architectural features were designed to cope with Broome’s tropical climate, remoteness and limited access to building materials, but also demonstrate multicultural influences from Asia. Today, the State Heritage-listed Chinatown Conservation Area includes the Sun Pictures Gardens, the world’s oldest operating outdoor cinema, the Broome Chinese Community Hall and Johnny Chi Lane.⁴

Two photographs remain of what appears to be a Japanese house or shop shrine in Broome, which contains a Buddhist prayer book, lotus symbols and O-bon Matsuri lanterns. This festival honouring ancestors continues to be celebrated in Broome by the Japanese community and a wider multicultural Shinju Matsuri Festival is now a major tourist attraction. ⁵

There is no material evidence remaining of a purpose-built Chinese temple in Broome during the pearling boom, but there is mention of a Chinese temple and Chinese New Year celebrations in a 1914 newspaper article.⁶ It is likely that this temple may have contained Buddhist symbols and deities, similar to other Chinese temples of the period across Australia, such as in Darwin, Cairns and Cooktown.  

By: Sioh Yang Tan and Anna Halafoff 

References: 

¹ “Pearl Divers,” WA Migration Stories, State Library of Western Australia, accessed August 6, 2026, https://exhibitions.slwa.wa.gov.au/s/migration/page/pearl_divers; “Pearls and Pearling in Broome,” Australia’s North West, accessed August 6, 2026, https://www.australiasnorthwest.com/explore/broome/pearls-and-pearling/. 

² “Pearl Divers,” WA Migration Stories; “Chinatown History,” Broome Chinatown Revitalisation, accessed August 6, 2026, https://chinatownbroome.com.au/history; “Chinatown Broome: The Heart of Broome’s Multicultural Heritage,” Broome Visitor Centre, accessed August 6, 2026, https://www.visitbroome.com.au/blog/2026/chinatown-broome-the-heart-of-broomes-multicultural-heritage. 

³ Chris Maher, “Chris Maher | Broome | Buddhism in Australia,” conducted by Buddhism in Australia research team, interview, 2024, posted Nov 21, 2025 , by Nan Tien Institute, YouTube, https://youtu.be/IxPx3ba7FEY; Doug Fong, “Doug Fong | Broome | Buddhism in Australia,” conducted by Buddhism in Australia research team, interview, 2024, posted Nov 21, 2025 , by Nan Tien Institute, YouTube, https://youtu.be/MQDWaEXlzVw; Sarah Yu, “Dr Sarah Yu | Nyamba Buru Yawuru | Buddhism in Australia,” conducted by Buddhism in Australia research team, interview, 2024, posted Nov 21, 2025 , by Nan Tien Institute, YouTube, https://youtu.be/-A66-cAH3pw; Pearl Yamaguchi, “Pearl Yamaguchi | Broome | Buddhism in Australia,” conducted by Buddhism in Australia research team, interview, 2024, posted Nov 21, 2025 , by Nan Tien Institute, YouTube, https://youtu.be/q80OdFmzoCw; Philip Matsumoto, “Philip Matsumoto | Broome | Buddhism in Australia,” conducted by Buddhism in Australia research team, interview, 2024, posted Nov 21, 2025 , by Nan Tien Institute, YouTube, https://youtu.be/qZD8fmlPAqo.

⁴ “Chinatown Conservation Area,” InHerit, Government of Western Australia Heritage Council, accessed August 6, 2026, https://inherit.dplh.wa.gov.au/public/inventory/details/bf951cf9-9b71-4a4e-890c-22a7126f92eb.

⁵ “Japanese divers in Broome,” National Museum of Australia, last modified July 19, 2024, https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/japanese-divers-broome; Anna Halafoff, Sue Smith, and Hannah Gould, “Tales from the other Australia: Lanterns for the dead, and the persistence of Buddhism in the Far North,” ABC Religion & Ethics, September 5, 2023, https://www.abc.net.au/religion/shinju-matsuri-festival-and-history-of-buddhism-in-far-north/102818862.

⁶ “A hot new year: New year at Roebuck Bay,” Sydney Morning Herald, January 10, 1914, 7; Jack Waltham, Chinese Temples of Australia (Flinders University, 2014).