It was actually the nacre-lined shells, or mother-of-pearl , rather than the pearls themselves, which brought brief fortune to the town. By 1910, eighty percent of the world's pearl shell, used in the manufacture of buttons, came from Broome, whose rich (though not always harmonious) ethnic mix developed at this time. "Chinatown" teemed with raucous and sometimes rioting Filipinos, Japanese, Arabs, Malays and Kupangers (from Timor), servicing the four hundred luggers and their crews involved in the dangerous business of diving for shells. While Broome's cemeteries steadily filled, perhaps one shell in a thousand produced a perfect example of the silvery pearls unique to this area.

Stagnation followed both world wars, although the Japanese, masters in the art of culturing pearls, invested in pearl-farming ventures around Broome's well-suited coastal habitat. Things improved with the sealing of the coastal highway from Perth in the early 1980s and the philanthropic interest of the English businessman Alistair McAlpine, who fell for Broome and subsequently kicked off its renovation. Tasteful development and refurbishment have enhanced the town's oriental and pearling mystique, enhanced by the sweeping expanse of Cable Beach , Gantheaume Point 's brick-red outcrops and the Indian Ocean's stunning turquoise hue. As word of the adjacent Kimberley's potential spreads, Broome's prosperity looks set to continue, something which will hardly disturb this laid-back, if pricey, tropical retreat for lotus-eaters.