Pearling Elders: exhibition honours Torres Strait pearling Elders and First Nations maritime history

Australian National Maritime Museum

90th anniversary of the 1936 maritime strike

On June 3, Mabo Day, the Australian National Maritime Museum will launch Pearling Elders, a series of commissioned photographic portraits and recorded oral histories of Zenadth Kes (Torres Strait) pearling Elders, ensuring that First Nations voices and lived experience remain central to Australia’s maritime story as communities mark the 90th anniversary of the 1936 Torres Strait maritime strike.

In January 1936, Torres Strait Islander maritime workers collectively refused to crew the pearling vessels (Lugger Borts) that powered a global industry, demanding fairer conditions and stronger local control. The strike remains a defining moment of First Nations industrial and political action in northern Australia, and it laid groundwork for lasting reforms to Islander representation and governance.

Lugger Bort—a creole-influenced name referencing the “lugger boats” that defined the era—has grown from a grassroots research initiative into a significant cultural movement. Led by independent researcher and curator Nerelle Nicol, and supported by the Australian National Maritime Museum, the project bridges archival records with lived experience through newly commissioned photographic portraits and interviews with Elders who worked in the Torres Strait pearling industry.

Matt Poll, Head of Indigenous Programs at the Museum said, ‘These portraits celebrate the spirit and quiet determination of Australia’s Torres Strait pearling Elders, these men navigated incredibly perilous conditions to shape our history. Thanks to the tireless work of curator Nerelle Nicol, their untold sacrifices and economic contributions are finally receiving the recognition they deserve. This exhibition elevates oral history into the realm of vernacular photography, with Wayne Quilliam’s award winning camera lens becoming a tool for self-determination.’

Nerelle Nicol said, ‘These stories are more than historical footnotes. They define the very identity of Queensland. Through Pearling Elders, we are ensuring First Nations voices are at the forefront of the narrative.

Ms Daryl Karp AM, Director and CEO of the Museum said, ‘On the 90th anniversary of the 1936 strike, Pearling Elders is a commitment to listening—recording and collecting the voices of Torres Strait pearling Elders and ensuring their maritime knowledge sits where it belongs: at the heart of Australia’s national story.’

In June 2025, the Museum’s First Nations and curatorial teams facilitated a Cairns-based photoshoot and recording weekend to create individual portraits, a collective filmic portrait of the Elders yarning together, and recorded interviews. The resulting high-resolution digital files and a curated selection of printed works will be acquired for the National Maritime Collection, helping ensure these stories are preserved and accessible for future generations.

The exhibition features black and white portraits by acclaimed portrait photographer Wayne Quilliam and features pearling elders: Jeffrey Bob, Jimmy Morrison, George Mosby and Albert Ware.

Pearling Elders has been supported by the Sid Faithfull and Christine Sadler acquisition program and Peter Dexter AM.

Why it matters: First Nations maritime history, labour, and the pearling industry

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Zenadth Kes (Torres Strait) sat at the centre of the global mother-of-pearl trade. Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and South Sea Islander seafarers were the backbone of this lucrative industry, yet their personal stories—of work, risk, skill, kinship and survival at sea—have too often been left out of the public record.

Long before industrial pearling intensified, Torres Strait Islander maritime trade networks moved gold-lip pearl shell across the Coral Sea region, including into the Papua New Guinea Highlands—an exchange so enduring that the PNG currency name “kina” recognises this history. By the 1920s, Australia supplied most of the world’s mother-of-pearl shell, with Thursday Island a major hub supporting a fleet of hundreds of luggers.

The work demanded extraordinary resilience. Crews endured long seasons, dangerous outer-reef grounds, cyclones and life-threatening diving conditions. As the number of Elders who carry first-hand memories dwindles, Pearling Elders responds with urgency—recording voices, names and experiences that might otherwise be lost.

The exhibition is free and opens on June 3 at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney.

ENDS

For images: Pearling Elders Images

About Wayne Quilliam

Originally from Lutruwita/Tasmania, Wayne learned the photographic trade while in the Navy in the 1970’s and has gone on to an outstanding career receiving some of the nation's highest Honors, including the NAIDOC Indigenous Artist of the Year (2009), a Walkley Award for photojournalism, and the Human Rights Media Award for his poignant documentation of the National Apology to the Stolen Generations.

Recognition of Wayne’s singular vision in the art of photographic portraiture was further cemented when he won the National Photographic Portrait Prize in 2022 for his powerful work Silent Strength.

Background: Key moments in Zenadth Kes pearling and maritime history

• c. 1000 years before present: Archaeological evidence for extensive Coral Sea cultural interaction and trade in gold-lip pearl shell from Central Torres Strait into Papua New Guinea Highlands.
• 1869: Captain William Banner harvested 50 tons of pearl shell from Warrior Reef in months—an early escalation of the modern pearling industry.
• 1895: Mabuyag Islanders purchased the lugger Little Nell, a first community cooperatively owned boat.
• 1899: Cyclone Mahina devastated Tropical North‑Eastern Australia; more than 300 people drowned, predominantly from the pearling lugger fleet.
• January 1936: The Torres Strait maritime strike began with a region-wide refusal to work across the pearling fleet.
• 1939: The Queensland Government passed the Torres Strait Islanders Act, legally recognising Islanders as a separate people and formalising Island councils.

For further information please contact:

Steve Riethoff            E: [email protected]                  M: 0417 047 837