David & Pam Hughes

Tell us a little about yourself.
David and I are lucky enough to be enjoying the best of both worlds as we ‘wind down’ towards retirement. Broome and pearls are two things we have had a love for a long time and we feel privileged to be enjoying the best of both! 

We spend half of our time in Broome and the other half in the rural setting of Buninyong, Victoria, where we raised our three daughters. We have been married for nearly forty years and have enjoyed a life of working hard so that we are able to travel. Tripping around Australia is a passion that we have had for a long time and we have passed down to our daughters and four grandchildren.  

David has over forty years in the automotive industry and I worked as a nurse and then an embroidery shop owner operator. 

What does your job entail?
David has the privilege of being a coach driver and meeting guests to share his knowledge of Broome and transporting them to Willie Creek Pearl Farm. Each day is different - from wet weather to the wildlife, occasional mechanical issues as well as accommodating famous faces in his trips.  

I work in the retail department of the company in my dream job where I am able to assist guests in finding their perfect piece of jewellery. Each pearl is unique and so is each guest, therefore being able to listen and understand a little bit about each guest is important for each beautiful pearl to find their right owner. 

Tell us how you started working for Willie Creek Pearls.
We first visited Broome in the year 2000 on a caravanning holiday with our daughters. We instantly had a love for the place and its people with the relaxed lifestyle and warm weather. It was also during this time that I purchased my first Willie Creek Pearls’ pearl (and I have enjoyed adding to the collection ever since).  

In the years that followed we continued to come back to Broome on many holidays. Looking for a lifestyle change we heard that Willie Creek Pearls were looking for staff and we began working for the company in 2015, after David retired from the company that he had worked for over the last forty years, and I sold my business. We had also put our family home on the market.

We often pinch ourselves that seven years on from first starting with the company that we still get to come to work each day in positions that we love and are surrounded by great people. 

What do you enjoy most about your job?
For David, it is the variety of wonderful guests that he gets to meet on a daily basis and that his office is the Broome landscape. 

On the other hand, I enjoy meeting and talking to guests (talking being something that I am told I do well). Seeing the smiles on the faces of our guests after having a wonderful experience at the Pearl Farm and taking home one of our beautiful pearls is a highlight for both of us.

What is the toughest part of your job?
Working for Willie Creek Pearls is something that we both love which makes it very easy to come to work each day.

What do you enjoy about pearls?
For both of us it is seeing the wonder of nature, as every pearl is so different. Seeing the wide variety of shapes and sizes, to the amazing results of the jewellery in the show rooms. For myself, it is also adding to my pearl collection. 

What was the most surprising thing about working with Australian South Sea Pearls?
We never realized how labour intensive looking after the oysters is - watching the team clean the shell at sea, being so excited to watch the technician seed the oysters and seeing the harvested pearl make the process so fascinating.