Japanese pearl labourers’ gravestones in the Thursday Island Historical Cemetery: an archaeological study

Author: Masafumi Sato

Sato, Masafumi, 2022 Japanese pearl labourers’ gravestones in the Thursday Island Historical Cemetery: an archaeological study, Flinders University, College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

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Abstract

This research represents an archaeological analysis of the 130 gravestones of Japanese pearl labourers in the Thursday Island Historical Cemetery that date between 1897 to 1912. The aim of this study is to examine the origins of the Japanese pearl labourers buried at the cemetery and to investigate the cultural background of the Japanese migrant society on Thursday Island and the northeast coast of Australia. The recording and research included the creation of a GIS (Geographic Information System) and an assessment of the shapes and typological features, decorations, and inscriptions of the gravestones. This study demonstrates the significance of the Japanese gravestones for the study and the general understanding of the cultural background of the Japanese pearl labourers in early colonial Australia and how they contributed to the maritime industries such as pearling and shipbuilding, in the top end.

Keywords: Archaeological analysis, Japanese gravestones, Japanese pearl labourers, Thursday Island, Thursday Island Historical Cemetery, 1897 to 1912, GIS (Geographic Information System) analysis, Typological analysis.

Subject: Archaeology thesis

Thesis type: Masters
Completed: 2022
School: College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
Supervisor: Wendy Van Duivenvoorde