Another fascinating story from the pen and lens of Roger Garwood.
Tang Wei – 1991 Photo – © Roger Garwood
The picture is of Tang Wei with his ‘long soup machine’ published with his story in the book Saltwater Cowboys.
This story is about Tang Wei, originally a hard hat diver who retired and opened the first restaurant in Broome (according to him). He only made Long Soup.
When I first went to Broome in about 1977 there were virtually no tourists. The population was around 1200 people and the main centre of entertainment was the old Roebuck hotel where it seemed the whole town turned out. It was a bit rugged but always enjoyable. The luggers, all wooden in those days, used to return to town after collecting pearl shell down the coast. I made a few trips on luggers and dived to about 100 feet a few times – not bad for a bloke who can hardly swim! Apart from being a real party town when the luggers crews were back on shore there were only a few places to eat. One of them was Tang Wei’s.
Tang Wei had been a hard hat diver and had later opened what was said to be the first restaurant in town which, not surprisingly, was known as Tang Wei’s, in China Town. I think a bowl of his legendary Long Soup was about $1.50 so that and a couple of beers was a cheap meal. It didn’t matter how busy the place was Tang Wei, dead on nine o’clock in the evening, would go through to his room at the back of the kitchen and listen to the news from China. We’d carry on eating, help ourselves to beer and leave our money on the counter.
The following interview with Tang Wei was made when Trish Ainslie and I started work on the second Broome book, Saltwater Cowboys, in about 1990. The transcription is made without any editing but hoping to retain his accent and the manner in which he spoke.
“Three time I nearly Die”
“I come in 1938 I come pearling, before the war. During the war, all time, Japan is bombing. Everybody run away, even sometimes policeman. No pearling! “I started restaurant, eight tables, eight man each table, four outside, four inside. One shilling and sixpence for bowl of long soup, very cheap! When I shut shop, 1983, long soup one dollar fifty!
“I cooked in Singapore before I came to Australia. Three or four years, 15 years old. Then everybody going to Australia to get to the pearl. I sign three year contract. You have to learn your charts, know where the pearl beds are.
“I was full diver, helmet, one hose, one rope, big boots. You go down, sometimes eighteen, twenty fathoms. Water clear, you don’t need to go deeper, you see everything, you get plenty of shell. Water dirty you go a little bit deeper. You see long patches, might stay down one hour, two hours. The lugger push you along. When bag full you come up.
“I boss, head driver for Morgan. You know head driver has big worry. Morgan give me three hundred pound commission! “Three times I nearly die. The whale fish comes in June, July. I was walking on the seabed and I hear him. I looking. He caught my hose and he’s pulling me. If he broke the hose I no air you see.
“One time the man put the helmet on wrong, put me down and the helmet full up with water. I signaled to get up, he still put me down. The water comes high, up to nose.
One time the Willy Willy. One hundred thirty-five miles an hour. My lugger finish, fall down. Big sea push lugger clear. I got swimming. Then steamer come, the Koolinda ship. The captain, he look, he got small boat, he come pick me up. Three boats he pick up.
“Yeah, lucky!”
Broome ‘Saltwater Cowboys” The people and the place by Trish Ainslie and Roger Garwood
Moya Sharp
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