Paspaley

The Paspaley family left the Greek island of Kastellorizo during the First World War and arrived in 1919 at Cossack, on the Western Australian coast, when Broome, Cossack and Darwin were among the world's main pearling ports. Nicholas Paspaley (born Paspalis) joined a pearling fleet at 14 and, by 19, ran his own lugger, diving for natural pearls and mother-of-pearl shell.

As the beds off Port Hedland were exhausted he moved his operations to Darwin, built a fleet of five luggers, changed the family name and established the Paspaley Pearling Company there. At the outbreak of the Second World War the government impounded and destroyed northern Australia's luggers to keep them from Japanese forces; after the war he rebuilt four abandoned navy luggers and resumed pearling.

After the plastic button collapsed demand for mother-of-pearl in the 1950s, Paspaley turned to pearl culture. A joint venture with Japan's Kuribayashi family led to the first two Australian pearl farms, Kuri Bay and Port Essington, growing cultured South Sea pearls from the Pinctada maxima oyster of northern Australia. His wife Vivienne worked with him to build the company. He was appointed MBE in 1982 and died in 1984.

His son Nick Paspaley, who joined in 1969 after studying economics at the University of Sydney, refined the cultivation methods and has led the business since. In 1989 he merged the Kuri Bay and Port Essington projects under the Paspaley name. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in 1999 and helped found the South Sea Pearl Consortium.

Paspaley farms pearls along the north-west Australian coast and supplies pearls to other jewellers, including Tiffany & Co., Cartier and Harry Winston, as well as its own boutiques. In 1992 a single strand of 23 Paspaley pearls sold at Sotheby's New York for US$2.3 million, a record for cultured pearls at the time.

The company remains family-owned, part of the Paspaley Group, whose interests also include marine engineering, aviation, property and Bunnamagoo Wines. Nick Paspaley AC is chairman and his son James Paspaley an executive director.