The Pearl King by Robert Lehane
James Clark, born on a Hunter estuary, NSW, island in 1857 was orphaned at age two, arrived penniless in Brisbane ten years later, and never looked back. Starting out in Torres Straight at 23, he became the dominant figure in Australia's pearl-shelling industry, The Pearl King. Then with a young partner, he built one of the nation's biggest pastoral companies. He ran an oyster business in Moreton Bay that supplied gourmet markets as far away as Perth, and was prominent in Queensland's yachting and horseracing fraternities. Entrepreneural, generous, with a reputation for straight-shooting, he lived life to the full.