Broome, also known as Rubibi by the Yawuru people, is a coastal pearling and tourist town in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, 2,046 km (1,271 mi) north of Perth.

Broome is located on Western Australia's tropical Kimberley coast on the eastern edge of the Indian Ocean.

On the eastern shore are the waters of Roebuck Bay extending from the main jetty at Port Drive to Sandy Point, west of Thangoo station.

[4] Located directly east of Cable Beach over the dunes is Minyirr Park, a coastal reserve administered by a collaboration of the Shire of Broome and the Yawuru people.

In 1879, Charles Harper proposed the formation of a Government Station at the Roebuck Bay Pastoral and Agricultural Association's site at Cape Villaret, at the south end of Roebuck Bay, to provide facilities for the extension of the Pearl Shell Fishery, and to form a port and base of operations for intending pastoral and agricultural settlers.

[6][7] In 1883, John Forrest chose the site for the town, and it was named after Sir Frederick Broome, the Governor of Western Australia from 1883 to 1889.

This led to numerous racially motivated conflicts, most notably the 1920 race riots between Japanese and Malay residents, resulting in 8 deaths and at least 60 injuries.

Dinosaur footprints dated as Early Cretaceous in age (approximately 130 million years ago) were discovered 30 m (98 ft) out to sea at Gantheaume Point in the 1960s.

The campaign has received ardent support from public figures such as John Butler, Missy Higgins, Clare Bowditch and former leader of the Australian Greens, Dr Bob Brown.

The campaign has since remained a divisive topic amongst locals, with many blaming the 'no' decision for the slow economic growth that characterises the region.

Fossilised Megalosauropus broomensis dinosaur footprints dated as early Cretaceous in age are 30 m (98 ft) out to sea at Gantheaume Point.

[16][17] The fossil trackways at Broome include possibly the largest known dinosaur footprints, sauropod tracks upwards of 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) long.

[20] At first, Indigenous people, especially women and girls, were forced to dive for pearls by European pearlers, and many died working in the industry.

Report of abuses in the early days of pearling led to legislation in 1871 and 1875 regulating native labour and prohibiting the use of women as divers.

[23] In April 2019, the skeletons of 14 Yawuru and Karajarri people which had been sold by a wealthy Broome pearler to a museum in Dresden in 1894 were brought home.

The remains, which had been stored in the Grassi Museum of Ethnology in Leipzig, showed signs of head wounds and malnutrition, a reflection of the poor conditions endured by Aboriginal people forced to work on the pearling boats.

The wet season extends from December to March, with maximum temperatures of around 35 °C (95 °F), with rather erratic tropical downpours and high humidity.

[36] Marrugeku is a dance company led by co-artistic directors choreographer/dancer Dalisa Pigram and director/dramaturg Rachael Swain, who have worked together for 23 years.

[45] It was established in 1983 by the wildlife documentary maker Malcolm Douglas, and holds 30 adult crocodiles that have been captured in the wild after threatening humans.

The park is home to Fatso, a saltwater crocodile who on 12 July 2010 bit a Melbourne man, Michael Newman, who climbed into his enclosure.