At Nickol Bay, decorative pearl shells ("Riji") made by local Aborigines from "Pinctada maxima", were noted by European explorers. The industry began in the mid-1860s with pastoral workers who collected shell in shallow waters, either from shore or in small boats. In 1866, a former shareholder of the defunct Denison Plains Company, WF Tays (who apparently had some prior knowledge of pearling) proved very successful as a full-time pearler. Others followed and in these instances, the boat provided transport for personnel and shell to and from remote beds, or across deeper water to drying banks and reefs. There was no diving at this time, as the shallow waters initially provided enormous returns to the Europeans and their Aboriginal labourers, who waded and recovered shell as the tide receded.