NT Pearling

Off Again

On Again

120 Japs to Rescue of NT Pearling

TN early June it was announced * that 120 Japanese pearl-divers

were leaving Tokio by air for

Darwin to work for Australian

master-pearlers.

This—temporarily, anyhow—

puts an end to the Great Jap Pearling Fuss that has convulsed certain elements in Australian

society for several months.

Since pearling recommenced in North Australian waters after the war, master pearlers have tried one expedient after another to replace the Japanese divers who carried the industry before World War 11. The only result was that the Australian industry faded away almost to the point of non-existence, although for the past three seasons, Ameri can-financed Japanese pearling fleets have reaped a rich harvest from the same seas.

This year, after years of argu ment, the Commonwealth Govern ment issued permits for about 100 hand-picked Japanese to be em ployed on Australian luggers opera ting out of Darwin.

There followed the usual howls from outraged but unrealistic Australian citizens—ex-servicemen, trade-unionists and politicians, none of whom have the slightest know ledge of or interest in the pearling industry, as an industry.

Their opinion, stripped of the tub-thumping and heroics, was that Australia would be better off with out a pearling industry if having one meant employing Japs.

The Authorities countered by announcing that they would be allowed in only under the “strictest safeguards”—i.e., they would be photographed from several angles, finger-printed, carefully segregated from the rest of the community and generally treated like dangerous criminals. Once they had served P ur P° se and produced the shell they would be returned to Japan in short order.

That was several months ago.

In mid-May, when the Japs should have been on the job a month, it was suddenly discovered down South (no doubt it had been causing consternation up North for a lot longer that that) that no Japs Pad accepted Australia’s gracious invitation—in fact, the Japanese Government announced that it would not issue the necessary exit

permits if the divers did offer.

Complete and utter consternation.

The hide of them, said the Aus tralian public. Here we p ermit these people to come in to get pearl shell for us and they have the colossal effrontery to refuse.

Canberra politicians said that if they couldn’t get divers from Japan, then they should immedi ately get them from Okinawa, which is under American administration.

There must have been some swift work behind the scenes in recent weeks—on June 4 it was announced from Canberra that 120 divers were on their way. Terms of their entry were not mentioned—except that they would work for a term of three years and will earn from £l,OOO to £l,BOO per season.

Presumably Australia intends to < on with the photographing a finger-printing.

We may assume that not a Jap likes to be treated like arch-criminal and that the o:< reason these 120 are prepared swallow that treatment is money involved. If they can tj. £3,000 back to Japan at the e of three years, that will be coc parative wealth. We cam imagine any other reason why tl are coming. It would be mv smarter from Japan’s point of w if they, in effect, told Australia, go jump in the sea over its a shell beds. The Japs would h: have to wait only another year 1 so and the pearl-fishing in Arafura Sea would be a Japan monopoly.