could
see the shells. These shallow waters in turn became exhausted, and the
boats were increased in size to five or six tons ; such boats were
capable of shifting from one ground to another, but always kept within
a short distance of the shore. At the present day there is a large
fleet of cutters and schooners, varying between 25 and 80 tons, with
three to six dingies each, working almost out of sight of land, and
several hundred miles away from any settlement.
The
whole northern coast of Australia, from Cape York to the North-west
Cape, a distance of 2000 miles, is the habitat of the Mother-of-Pearl
oyster. Immense quantities of shell have, it is true, been taksa in
Torres Straits, but there the conditions" Of working are far easier
than in the North-west, where hurricanes and six months cold weather,
deter any but men of a very adventurous and hardy character from
embarking in the industry.
The West Australian grounds extend from
Exmouth Gulf eastwards as far as King's Sound ;
beyond these limits the boats have seldom gone.
Roebuck Bay alone has in two seasons yielded as
much as 440 tons of shell. The head-quarters
of the pearling fleet are at Cossack, a township
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