Broome, Western Australia

Broome, Western Australia, Australia

Camels walk along the shore of Cable Beach at sunset with reflections in the wet sand.

Broome is a pearling town on a red-sand coast, where dry-season sunsets and the Staircase to the Moon make the long trip north worthwhile.

The place

Broome sits on a peninsula on Western Australia's Kimberley coast, so water lies on both sides of the town. Roebuck Bay runs along the eastern shore, and its intertidal mudflats and red sand beaches serve as a stopover for migrating shorebirds travelling the East Asian–Australasian Flyway between northern Asia and Australia. On the western side, the Indian Ocean meets the coast. With around 15,000 residents, Broome is the largest town in the Kimberley, and it still feels like a relaxed outpost rather than a city. The Yawuru people know the place as Rubibi.

Town Beach, on the bay side, is the spot for the Staircase to the Moon, a natural effect in which a falling tide and a rising moon line up to make a stepped path of light across the mudflats. Visitors gather there in the evening, and a food and craft market often operates on those nights. Cable Beach, a short drive away, is the long, wide stretch that most people picture when they think of Broome.

The climate shapes daily life. The dry months are mostly clear and warm, while the wet season from December to March brings humid air and sudden, heavy downpours. Tropical cyclones and summer storms make rainfall unpredictable, so a wet year can differ sharply from a dry one. The town is small enough to explore on foot or by bike, and the beaches and museums are easy to reach from the centre.

Its story

Long before the town existed, this coast was crossed by animals that left prints in the mud. Dinosaur footprints from the Early Cretaceous, roughly 130 million years old, were discovered at Gantheaume Point in the 1960s. They lie just out to sea and are exposed only at very low tide. Some of the prints were cut from the rock and stolen in 1996, and most have since been recovered.

The land is the country of the Yawuru people, whose connection to it runs far deeper than any written record. Before the newcomers came, Yawuru life drew its food and materials from the sea and the bush, with hunting, gathering and fishing guided by detailed knowledge of the seasons. Trade networks reached across the Dampier Peninsula and the wider Kimberley, carrying goods and knowledge between language groups. In 2006, the Yawuru people gained official legal recognition of their rights over the ancestral land and sea they have traditionally occupied.

European contact came more slowly than is often assumed. William Dampier is often credited as the first European to reach Broome, but he only visited the north of what became the Dampier Peninsula. In 1699 he explored the coast as far as La Grange Bay, then turned north and left the Australian coast. Settlement came later, tied to the pearling industry. The town was founded in 1883 and grew up around the luggers and divers who worked the bay. In 1942 Japanese forces attacked the town, an event that still shapes how the local museum tells its story.

What to see

Culture

Broome sits on Yawuru country, and the Yawuru were formally recognised as native title holders in 2006, so Aboriginal culture is part of the town's everyday life rather than a side attraction. Art is one way into it. Short Street Gallery sells contemporary Aboriginal art from the Kimberley, Pilbara and beyond. The Marrugeku dance company, led by Dalisa Pigram and Rachael Swain, makes new performances that bring Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians together, and it works from bases in Broome and Sydney. Broome is also home to the Sun Picture Garden, an open-air cinema where films screen under the stars. The Sisters of St John of God run a heritage centre in town that exhibits their work with local Aboriginal people, which gives a gentle way into the town's social history. Ask before photographing Aboriginal people or sacred sites, and buy art only from galleries that name the artist and their community.

What to wear

Traditional dress on this coast was practical and often ceremonial, made from natural materials such as plant fibres, shell, feathers and ochre. Much of the visual culture lay in body decoration and painting rather than tailored clothing. Details differ between language groups, and Yawuru knowledge of ceremonial dress is best learned from Yawuru-led organisations and cultural centres. The pearling era added its own working dress, mostly simple cloth clothing suited to hot water and boats.

Today most people in Broome dress for the heat: shorts, T-shirts, linen shirts and sundresses, with flip-flops for the beach and closed shoes for town. Aboriginal designs appear on clothing and textiles sold in local shops and galleries, and many people wear them with pride. Evenings at better restaurants call for smart casual rather than formal wear.

For a visit, choose loose, light cotton or linen in pale colours, which breathe better in the humidity. Bring a wide-brimmed hat and sunscreen for the open beaches. Sturdy closed shoes suit the rocky tracks and mudflats, and sandals are fine in town. At cemeteries and other places of remembrance, including the Japanese Cemetery, dress modestly, with shoulders and knees covered.

What to eat

Plan it

Best time. April to November is the dry season, with mostly clear skies and maximum temperatures around 30 °C. May to September is the most comfortable stretch for walking and beach days. December to March is the wet season, with humid air, erratic downpours, cyclone risk and maximum temperatures near 35 °C.

How long. 2–3

Getting there. Fly into Broome Airport, the main way in for most visitors; check schedules, as services change. Overland, the Integrity bus from Perth takes about 36 hours along the coast, and the road from Darwin is about 1,870 km.

Budget. mid

Tips

Etiquette

Nearby

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