Isles of the East : an illustrated guide : Australia, New Guinea, Java, Sumatra . Island, the northermost part ofAustralia. Steaming almost due west through a network of small islands, extremely picturesque in their setting of a brilliant turquoise blue ocean, we arrive at Thursday Island. Hardly a ripple THURSDAY stirred the surface of the water, and one might ISLAND. have easily imagined our navigating a great calm lake. Numerous pearling lug^rs lay ^t anchor in the bay, the dark figures of the native crews clearly outlined against the white vessels. A wharf of great length connects with the
Isles of the East : an illustrated guide : Australia, New Guinea, Java, Sumatra . Island, the northermost part ofAustralia. Steaming almost due west through a network of small islands, extremely picturesque in their setting of a brilliant turquoise blue ocean, we arrive at Thursday Island. Hardly a ripple THURSDAY stirred the surface of the water, and one might ISLAND. have easily imagined our navigating a great calm lake. Numerous pearling lug^rs lay ^t anchor in the bay, the dark figures of the native crews clearly outlined against the white vessels. A wharf of great length connects with the shore, at the. extreme end of which stands the post and telegraph office. The town is notvery large and all buildings are constructed of wood and galvanised streets are wide, fairly well kept and in some cases lined with cocoa-nut trees. All the principal commercial houses have ofBces fronting thebeach, some little distance south of the Post Office. The town possessesseveral hotels and one Bank. Thursday Island is the centre of the great pearling industry andmany valuable pearls have been found here. The boats used (luggers asthey are called) are staunch little vessels and frequently have accomplished voyages from Sydney to Dobo, in the Aroe Islands. They are mannedusually by natives under the command of a vihite man, the majority ofthe di\-ers being Japanese. Ihe pearlers lot is an arduous one, the work is hard and the frequentstorms often occasion loss of life. The pearl fishing season lasts forabout eight months of the year, the remaining months being devoted torefitting and repairin
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidcu3192401058, bookyear1912
