Japanese and Chinese Cemeteries

1 Port Drive, Broome, 6725

Broome's Japanese cemetery stands testament to close ties between this region and Japan, as well as to the sacrifices made by pearlers in the early days of the industry. Obelisks mark the graves of over 900 Japanese pearlers, and alongside, the Chinese cemetery is the resting place for members of Broome's Chinese community. The cemetery is thought to be the largest such site outside of Japan. 

Many of the Japanese pearling crews who worked in Broome came from Taji and other villages in the Wakayama Prefecture. A large number of those buried at the Japanese cemetery were divers who died due to decompression sickness or other illnesses related to diving.

The older headstones in the Japanese cemetery are made of local sandstone, carved with the name, birthplace and date of death of the deceased person, sometimes with the name of the person who erected the headstone. Black granite headstones replaced some of the damaged older headstones as part of the restoration of the cemetery restoration in the 1980's. 

The cemeteries can be visited as part of a self-guided Broome tour, or by joining a Broome sightseeing tour.