Broome, Western Australia

The beautiful seaside at Broome, Western Australia
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Bidgee


Broome is a tourist town on the northwestern coast of Western Australia. It has a permanent population of around 14,500 people (2012 estimate) though in the tourist season, the number of people in Broome may swell to over 45,000 people.

Broome was established on a site that was originally inhabited by the Yawuru tribe of Australian Aborigines. English buccaneer William Dampier, after whom Dampier Peninsula was named, was one of the first Europeans to sail through the area in 1699, though he probably did not stop over at the site of present-day Broome. The town was in 1883 named by Sir John Forrest, the first Premier of Western Australia, after Sir Frederick Broome, the Governor of Western Australia from 1883 to 1889.

In 1889, a telegraph undersea cable was laid connecting Broome to Singapore. The landfall at Broome was called Cable Beach. Broome developed from the pearl industry of the late 19th century. Many of those involved in the industry were ethnic Japanese.

Broome on Google Street View

A street in Broome
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christophe MALLET


Jagged rocks along the coast of Broome
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Adam.J.W.C.


The Japanese became such an important component of the local industry that the pearl divers were allowed to work in Broome until the Second World War. Since then, with improved relations between Japan and Australia, the Japanese culture in Broome is once again celebrated through the annual Shinju Matsuri festival.

Broome experiences a tropical climate with a distinct wet season and a dry season. The dry season is from April through November, when the maximum temperature rises to 30°C (86°F). The wet season runs from December through March, with maximum temperatures of 35°C (95°F). Broome is susceptible to tropical cyclones, particularly during the hot, wet season.

Camels on Cable Beach, Broome
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cable_Beach,_Western_Australia.jpg
Nachoman-au

Visiting Broome

There are flights to Broome from Perth and Darwin on Qantas, from Darwin and Kununurra on Airnorth, and from Perth on Virgin Australia.

The distance to Broome by road from Perth is 2,200 km and from Darwin 1,900 km. There are bus services from either cities. To drive there from Perth, take either National Highway 1 (North West Coastal Highway) or the National Route 95 (Great Northern Highway).

Places of Interest in Broome

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Thanks for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye. My hobby is to research information about places, and share the information with people on this website. I started this website on 5 January 2003, and since then, have written about over 20,000 places, mostly in Malaysia and Singapore.

Please use the information on this page as guidance only. While I try my best to provide you information that is as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors. Also, as I might not be able to update some information on time, some of these pages may contain outdated information.