Bronze statue of hard-hat pearl diver unveiled in Broome

27/8/99
Citizenship and Multicultural Interests Minister Mike Board has revealed a new focal point for the appreciation of Broome's history.
Providing a highlight for the start of this year's Shinju Matsuri Festival, the Minister unveiled a bronze statue of a hard-hat pearl diver at Broome's Pearl Diver Memorial Roundabout.
The unveiling was part of the opening ceremony for the 30th Shinju Matsuri Festival, the 'pearl anniversary' of the Festival of the Pearl.
The statue was sculpted by renowned Gidgegannup artists Charles and Joan Smith and funded in part by a $20,000 grant from the Office of Citizenship and Multicultural Interests.
Mr Board said the artist's work had provided a compelling memorial to the hundreds of pearl divers who had given their lives to establish one of the Kimberley region's most valuable industries.
"This region has a very rich cultural heritage and brave souls from many of those communities provided the underwater manpower to kick start this industry," the Minister said.
"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, Japanese, Malay and Chinese divers all played an heroic role in getting the pearling industry under way.
"This magnificent statue recognises the role that each of them played and I have no doubt that it will soon become as easily recognised and as well known as Western Australia's other famous memorial, Paddy Hannan's statue in Kalgoorlie."
Mr Board said the statue celebrated the diverse cultural heritage that the early pearl divers had left for the community to enjoy. The harmony with which their descendants lived in Broome today was an inspiration for the rest of the world to follow.
The statue's sculptors, Charles and Joan Smith from Gidgegannup, produced the work in less than half the 12 months usually taken to complete a bronze work of this scale, so that it would be ready for unveiling at the launch of the Festival.
Until now, Mr Smith was best known for his sculptures of kangaroos on St George's Terrace (near the Supreme Court Gardens) and his human figures on the Burswood Heritage Trail.
Media contact: Jody Robb 9222 9211