Before Europeans arrived at the Dampier Peninsula 

Before the arrival of Europeans, the natural environment on the Dampier Peninsula provided plenty of bush tucker for the indigenous people.  Creeks, tidal areas and the ocean are full of fish, dugong, mud crab and oysters and the vine thickets provide fruits and berries to make a varied and nourishing local diet.

Dampier Peninsula people still have a strong affinity with the sea and bushland.  Visitors to the area can experience indigenous bush tucker by going on one of the fishing, mud crabbing, and bushwalking excursions and tours..

The Pearling Days

The 1860s saw the first arrival of pearlers from the south. 

The romantic image of the pearling industry is a stark contrast to the reality of these early days of white settlement.  Aboriginal people were forced to work in dangerous conditions.  Women were captured and sold to pearlers.  Sickness and disease was common.  It was a brutal period for Dampier Peninsula people. 

But pearling also brought a wide variety from different backgrounds such as;

• European
• Chinese
• Malay
• Philipino
• Koepanger
• Japanese

and provided the origins of the cosmopolitan population we find today in Broome and on the Dampier Peninsula.

Missionaries on the Dampier Peninsula

The first missionaries began arriving in the 1880s, with the French Trappists setting up a settlement near to Beagle Bay in the 1890s.  The German Pallottines came next, followed by the St John of God Sisters from Ireland.

Both Beagle Bay and Lombadina were first established as missions and visitors to these two communities can walk back in time in their beautiful historic churches.  The pearl shell alter at Beagle Bay and the bush timbers at the Lombadina church illustrate local  ingenuity and craft.

Sunday Island off One Arm Point provides a different history.  The ruins of buildings, vehicles and equipment on Sunday Island provide reminders of a mission first set up by the Church of England.  After an uncertain history the mission closed and residents moved to the mainland.  Today’s Ardyaloon community at One Arm Point grew from this arrival of residents on the mainland.

Role of the Government

The role of the church and the influence of Government have both been considerable over different eras on the Dampier Peninsula.  Settlements today are self governed with community councils and widely varied aspirations for the future.

Nowhere is this more evident than with the development of remote area outstations, a modern day expression of community aspirations to return to traditional lands.  Some of these outstations today provide serviced camping grounds and varied activities that permit visitors to the Dampier Peninsula to opportunities to share in the lifestyle and culture of local people.

The Dampier Peninsula today continues to be in a state of change and redefinition of history.  The 2005 Native Title determination in favour of the Bardi / Jawi Native claimants, provides recognition of unbroken traditional ownership of land on the Dampier Peninsula.

The Dampier Peninsula Today

Traditional law and customs combine with the influences of the pearling days, the missionaries, and Government, to provide contemporary lifestyle and culture for Dampier Peninsula locals.  A colourful and at times turbulent history is absorbed into the strong salt water heritage of the Aboriginal language groups:

• Jawi
• Bardi
• Nyulnyul
• Jabirrjabirr
• Nimanburru
• Ngumbarl