1,500 km north east of Carnarvon on the Great Northern Highway. Broome is a rare delight in these parts. Not only is it a pleasant holiday resort, but it actually has a history, which has given it a distinctive character.

Until the 1870s the local Aborigines were still managing to repel all attempts by Europeans to settle this part of the coast. Then an intrepid intruder discovered that the local beaches were covered in pearl shells. This led to the pearl rush of the 1880s. Overnight Broome became a boom town.

Within 20 years, Broome was ‘The Pearl Capital of the World’, its pearl shells supplying an astonishing 80 per cent of the world market. (There were comparatively few actual pearls, it was the mother of pearl lining of the shells which provided the lucre.) Four hundred luggers operated from the port – taking with them (or leaving behind dead drunk) as many as 3,000 sailors and divers. Most of these were Asians (Japanese, Malays, Filipinos) and Arabs. An explosive racial mix, they inhabited the area know locally as Chinatown (which did actually have a few Chinese: they usually ran the shops). As is often the case in such waterfront spots, there were often riots: race riots, religious riots, stolen pearl riots, revellers’ riots and pure and simple rioters’ riots. Then it was time to set sail in the morning to earn enough for the next riot.

After plastic buttons were invented, mother-of-pearl buttons went out of fashion, and the riotous days were over. Those who didn’t have enough money to get home remained in Chinatown, which still has a ‘rich ethnic mix’ (and street signs in five languages).

For several decades this ex-world-capital simply went to sleep. Then the sealed highway linking Broome to the state capital, Perth, arrived at the end of its 2,000-km journey. A few years later, Lord McAlpine arrived. The British peer was so taken with Broome that he financed a one-man revival, and through the 1980s Broome started to become a resort. Fortunately for us (but not Lord McAlpine), he ran into financial difficulties before he could wreck the place, and what remains is a pleasantly developed seaside holiday spot with just enough commercialization for comfort.

If you fancy doing something more than hell-raising in the bars at night, and recovering on the beach during the day, there are several sights worth seeing. Chinatown has the world’s oldest cinema in continuous use (since 1916), cafés and souvenir shops (some still run by the Chinese). At the end of Frederick Street there’s the well-kept old Japanese Cemetery. Nearby, if you search around, you’ll find the overgrown old Chinese, Malay and Arab cemeteries. Broome also holds an evening market.

For the best beach in the entire north-west, head to Cable Beach. This is also virtually the last safe swimming spot: any further north and you’re into salt-water croc territory. Cable Beach was the spot where the last link of the London-Australia telephone cable came ashore just 100 years ago. The beach is 5 km east of town on the other side of the headland (regular buses from Carnarvon Street). It stretches for over 20 km and looks as if it was designed for a travel poster (cream sand, sea shading from crystalline clear through jade to deep ultramarine on the horizon). The north end of the beach is for nudist swimming, and on the rest there’s all the fun of the fair – including windsurfing, paragliding and even camel rides.

At Gantheaume Point, the southern limit of Cable Beach, there’s a cast of a dinosaur’s footprints on the clifftop. The actual petrified prints are in some rocks just offshore, and can only be seen at exceptionally low tides. These prints are said to be 120 million years old.

During the winter season Broome is a lively spot. At the drop of a hat they’ll hold a festival. Best of these is the Shinju Matsuri (Festival of the Pearl www.shinjumatsuri.com.au) in September when they hold dragon boat races out in the bay.

For a trip around the bay with a difference, try the Broome hovercraft, www.broomehovercraft.com.au. You can also take a moonlit cruise on a pearl lugger. Unromantic types will prefer a blast through the countryside on a Harley-Davidson. For further information see www.australianorthwest.com.au or try the Broome Visitor Centre on Broome Road (www.visitbroome.com.au). Here they also have details of hikes, birdwatching trips and much more.