Abrolhos Islands Pearl Farm

A freshly harvested Akoya pearl, grown in the pristine waters of the Abrolhos Islands, WA

Hugging the horizon, 60 kilometres off the Western Australian coast, the low-lying Abrolhos Islands are home to cray-fishing and, more recently pearl-farming families. With only minimal, low-vegetation, these islands are windswept, and tough underfoot with feet-cutting coral. Without access to mains supplies, the island dwellers use rainwater collected from their shack roofs, and power generated from solar and wind. This isn’t a destination for the faint hearted.

I returned to the Pelsaert group (also known as the Southern group) of islands recently and spent time photographing the pearl harvest and some of the beautiful jewellery created by two generations of the Liddon family: Jane and her daughter-in-law, Italian ex-fashion designer Michela Boriotti (Liddon Pearls) who calls this island home her “brutal paradise”.