Heath Ledger Theatre
State Theatre Centre of WA
Perth
Western Australia 6003
Postal Address N/A

Event Date

Start Date: 2012-01-28
End Date: 2012-02-16
Frequency: Daily A Perth International Arts Festival event.

The ‘Fat Years’ of Broome’s pre-WWI pearl-shell industry coincided with the national call to promote a white Australia. Broome owed its wealth to the cheap ‘coloured’ labour that collected mother-of-pearl from the hazardous seas.

When the Australian Government discovered this one remaining pocket of racial diversity, they demanded the Asians be replaced with British navy divers. The master pearlers fiercely opposed having to employ white divers and entered into opportunistic alliances with the Asian crews to resist the newcomers.

The White Divers of Broome is a fast-paced celebration of boom time Broome, its unique beauty, its exotic mix of cultures and the seductive power of its landscape. It is a stirring account of isolation, nonconformity and survival in a harsh and relentless environment.

Please refer to the website for more information.