- Paspaley
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Paspaley is the largest pearling company in Australia[citation needed]. It started operations in the 1930s and is based in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. It has about 20 farms, situated between Dampier, Western Australia and the Cobourg Peninsula east of Darwin.
History
Nicholas Paspaley Senior MBE (1914–1984) fled the Greek island of Castellorizo with his family during World War I. His father, Theodosis Paspalis brought his family to Australia in 1919 and decided to settle at their ship's first port of call, Cossack on the Indian Ocean coast of Western Australia.
The Paspalis family were among a few Europeans living in the area with the traditional Aboriginal inhabitants and Asian pearl fishermen. Pearling was one of the few viable industries in the area, and although Theodosis died in 1924, his sons Michael and Nicholas and his daughter Mary continued their father's interest in pearling. Nicholas learnt the trade at 14 years of age and by 1932, he was at the helm of his own pearling lugger, diving for shell that fulfilled most of the global demand for button making. Michael Paspalis worked as a pearl lugger for many years in Port Hedland. The Paspalis family realised that Port Hedland was becoming less profitable since all the pearl fields in the region had been exhausted and decided to move further north to Broome, where they established their business. Nicholas Paspalis changed the family name to Paspaley.
After World War II, the mother-of-pearl shell industry boomed as unprecedented demand ensured record prices right through to the mid 1950s. Nicholas bought four luggers which were abandoned by the Royal Australian Navy on Darwin's Dinah Beach and began pearling out of Darwin. However, the invention of the plastic button reduced demand for mother-of-pearl shell, the industry was virtually decimated overnight and fleets of pearling luggers were abandoned on beaches along the coastline. [1]
Today, the business interests of Paspaley extend beyond pearling to retail, aviation and marine engineering and farming interests. Ironically, despite the family's immigrant roots, Paspaley are also majority stakeholders in the Wickham Point Development, Australia's largest immigration detention centre in Darwin [2][3][4]. The company is run today by his son Nicholas Paspaley Executive Chairman and daughter Roselyn. His other daughter Marilynne Paspaley is an actress. [5]
References
- ^ http://www.arafura.net.au/greeksnt/pearls.html
- ^ http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-03-11/paspaley-pearling-family-behind-detention-centre/2661770
- ^ http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2011/03/13/217661_ntnews.html
- ^ http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/46969
- ^ http://www.paspaleypearls.com/english/home.htm
External links
Categories:- Pearls
- Privately held companies of Australia
- Australian company stubs
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