Jiro Muramats
Encyclopedia
Jiro Muramats was a pearler who lived in Western Australia
's remote town of Cossack
.
Born in Kobe, Japan in 1878, he moved as a boy to the states far northwest. Along with his brother, he was to take control of the family firm as J. & T. Muramats which imported and traded goods to that region until the 1940s. He also owned pearling
luggers which operated in that port, despite a number of racist policies of the state. A period of revitalisation in the pearling industry became one of defiance by a number of operators who did not join the national government's voluntary Northern Territory Pearling Ordinance in 1931. Muramats had been granted naturalization
in Victoria, Australia, but amendments to acts in Western Australia disenfranchised many people from non-English ethnic backgrounds. He was interned during World War II
and did not survive.
His wife, Hatsu (Noguchi of Nagasaki), returned to Cossack and was its last resident.
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
's remote town of Cossack
Cossack, Western Australia
Cossack is an historic ghost town located 1,480 km north of Perth and 15 km from Roebourne in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The nearest town to Cossack is Wickham. At the 2006 census, Cossack had a population of 236....
.
Born in Kobe, Japan in 1878, he moved as a boy to the states far northwest. Along with his brother, he was to take control of the family firm as J. & T. Muramats which imported and traded goods to that region until the 1940s. He also owned pearling
Pearling in Western Australia
Pearling in Western Australia existed well before European settlement. Coastal dwelling Aborigines had collected and traded pearl shell as well as trepang and tortoise with fishermen from Sulawesi for possibly hundreds of years. After settlement the Aborigines were used as slave labour in the...
luggers which operated in that port, despite a number of racist policies of the state. A period of revitalisation in the pearling industry became one of defiance by a number of operators who did not join the national government's voluntary Northern Territory Pearling Ordinance in 1931. Muramats had been granted naturalization
Naturalization
Naturalization is the acquisition of citizenship and nationality by somebody who was not a citizen of that country at the time of birth....
in Victoria, Australia, but amendments to acts in Western Australia disenfranchised many people from non-English ethnic backgrounds. He was interned during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and did not survive.
His wife, Hatsu (Noguchi of Nagasaki), returned to Cossack and was its last resident.