Cemetery restoration begins with headstone identification

Secrets and untold stories of Broome’s former Japanese pearl divers, and their historic link to the town will be revealed as part of an ambitious restoration project at the Japanese Cemetery.

Cemetary curator Hayato Sakurai has teamed up with members of Broome’s Japanese community to embark on the project which has been launched to find out more about the people buried in the cemetery and identify unknown individuals.

It was also established to help preserve the hundreds of old Japanese gravestones erected in the area.

During his visits to Broome through the St Mary’s College cultural exchange program, Mr Sakurai was approached by the Japanese community including Cauline Masuda and Pearl Hamaguchi, along with the Broome Cemetery Advisory Committee to examine the headstones.

Ms Masuda submitted an application with the Shire to fund the restoration project and bring Mr Sakurai back to Broome to further his work.

Earlier this year, Mr Sakurai returned to the town and worked closely with Ms Masuda and other residents to begin the meticulous process of researching and transcribing headstones.

Mr Sakurai said there were many facets to the project, but the primary objective was to develop the most accurate, up to date list of Japanese names.

The first challenge the researchers stumbled upon was the ambiguity of the names on gravestones.

Mr Sakurai said Japanese letters usually have at least two sounds so there were several ways to interpret a person’s name, and it was not always clear which was the correct translation.

After months of research, Mr Sakuri and Ms Masuda were fortunate to discover several Australian resources and records revealing additional personal information about individuals, including the cause of death, date of death, date of burial and where the person was originally from.

Mr Sakuri said the project was ambitious, but said it was very important to preserve the history of the Japanese people and their ties to Broome.

“If you think of the history of Broome, you need to think of these guys…they made a huge contribution to the development of Broome and people remember that.

That’s why the two towns became sister cities,” he said.