Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-08-03
DIVING FOR PEARLS
Description of Visit to Thursday
Island.
HEADQUARTERS OF THE INDUSTRY
How the Shells Are Brought UP
From Oceans Depths
A PROF1TAB BILE BUSINESS

Copyright, 19c1. by Frank G. Carpentere
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star
THURSDAY ISLAND,
Torres Strait, South Pacific Ocean.
Have you never heard of Thursday Is
land? 1t is the metropolis of the pearl
fishing industry of the Pacific ocean. The
seas about 1t are spotted with banks or
peari oysters and hundreds of divers are
always moving about through them. They
bring back tons OF valuable shells and Of
ten pearls of great price. Already millions
of dollars worth of shells and pearls have
been gathered, and still there are fortunes
In sight The same business is going on
off the coast of western Australia. where
$500. 900 worth of shells are annually raised
and where some shells are found worth
$1,000 ton. A pearl discovered there a
few years ago sold for 81 500 and another
one found in 1890 brought $4,000.
But first let me tell you just where
Thursday Island is and of my strange trip
to It. If you will take your map OF the
Pacific ocean you will see, just north Oh
Australia the enormous island or New
Guinea which is not counting Australia,
the largest island of the world. 1t Is ABOUT
100 miles long and in places more tnai'
400 miles wide. This great mass lies with
in eighty miles of Australia and the strait
between the two is spotted with islands
and coral reefs. There are hundreds OF
islands. some inhabited by strange tribes
others mere coral rocks Jutting out OF lne
sea and others half settled by Australians
There are islands for every day OF the
week There is Sunday Island. Monday
Island. a Tuesday Island ana a Ihursday
Island. When we came into the harpor
we were told we must go to Friday Island
for quarantine and we sailed by other
islands later on before we came to Ihurs-
day Island.
On Thursday Island.
Thursday Island commands Torres Strait.
The British government is building fcrtih-
cations upon it. and it now has a garrison
on a hill back of the harbor. 1t has six
inch guns already mounted. and it expects
to establish a big coaling station here TO
aid it in defending it's possessions In TINS
part of the world.
Thursday Island is one Of the smallest in
the strait but owing to its excellent mar
Dor II is the port of call of all ships going
through. Vessels of any size can anchor
in it's waters and be safe, and the result is
that all the steamers which go about North
Australia to Europe stop here There are
also steamers for Japan, China, the Philip
pines and other parts Of Asia, as we'll as
vessels for New Guinea and the Islands or
the South seas.
cries a considerable town has grown up
about the harbor. There are several hum
dred buildings. and the Queensland govern
1nent, which controls the island has num-
Der Of public offices, such as court house,
customs house, post and telegraph
office and savings bank. The biggest
house Of the town Is that of the governor,
standing on a little hill at one end, with a
flagstaff on its roof. Near by are the bar
racks great two-story buildings with gall
leries around them, looking not unlike
our second-clasS seaside hotels. In front
of the town two piers have been built out
s,,tn he h-arl for he nrp1y1 nd q
the smaller steamers and back OF these
are the warehouses and stores. The town
has six hotels and three or four churches.
Its inhabitants come from all parts of the
Pacific. As you step on the wharf you are
surrounded by representatives of all the
nations of the far east. There are brown
men, black men and yellow men. There are
FilipinoS, Japanese, Chinese. East Indians,
the population Is semi-sayage. and among
the floating population are pearl divers.
beach combers and beche de mer fishermen
of all coiors and races.
The Great Rarrfer Reef.
In coming to Thursday Island from Bris-
bane. Queensland, i had one of the won
derful trips of the world. The most
OF the way was inside the Great Bar
rier reef. which is made altogether OF
coral. Suppose you could construct wall
of coral from Boston to the Mississippi
be at least ! 200 miles. Suppose the wall
to be from 10 to 40 miles wide and to be
made entirely of coral. now in atolls, great
rings or coral walls encircling lagoens;
now in long ridges and now in gardens
and beds of most beautiful red white and
pink flowers of coral. built by these in
sects of the seas. Such wall is the
Great Barrier reefs, which extends along
the whole eastern coast of Australia
from Torres strait southwark for more
than 200 miles. At Rockhampton, sew
eral hundred miles above Brisbane. the
reef is a hundred miles from the coast. but
as a general thing the distance between 1,
and the shore varies between five and fif-
teen miles. and it was within this channel
that our steamer. guided by its pilot. plow-
ed its way.
At times we were close to the Australian
shore. coasting dry and thirsty land, as
dreary the arid plateaus of the Rockies
and again we Were moving along by these
great rings of coral, which foated as it
We're, on the face of the green sea Some
OF the atolls had vegetation upon them
the round basins being circled with cocoa
nut trees, while others were bare rock tC
be seen only at low tide.
The air was wonderfully clear and the
sky heavenly blue, with few clouds in
II, which made great patches of dark blue
velvet on the dreary gray of the noun
tains of the mainland. The water was as
smooth as a mill pond. We were steam
ing, as it were. through a great canal, one
wall of which was the rocks Of the CONT
nent of Australia and the other that built
up by the countless millions of the coral
polyps. The coral was in sight much OF
the way to Thursday Island, and 1t gave
us some idea of the enormous coral forma-
ton Of this part of the globe.
Where the Pearl Shells Lie,
1t Is in the coral islands and the lagoons
that the best pearl shells are found The
oysters which produce these shells are not
like our oysters. They grow to an enor-
nous size. and the shells are often as big
as tin wash basin. Sometimes they are
eighteen inches from one side to the other
single pair OF shells spread out measur-
Ing a yard in diameter. Until recently
ed which was under six inches in dia me.
ter. and at present the average weight OF