A curiosity, rather than one of the great pearls of the world, the pearl nevertheless attracted enormous attention because of its shape.
From the beginning there have been queries about whether the pearl's shape was natural, and the story of where and how it was found has been the subject of much storytelling.
According to Kelly, the pearler who was instrumental in finding it, the pearl was initially in 3 parts, and he wrote letters to the editors of various Australian papers to state so.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/32703692
The pearl was taken to England where the noted jeweller, Edwin Streeter, spread news of it, including the story Kelly debunked
and from time to time there were press reports about it. For example--
There were various proposals that English Catholics should purchase it for presentation to the Pope, but this never eventuated.
1929 proposal
The surprising story of how the pearl was "rediscovered" and where it had been can be read in this article. https://ratty.com.au/southern-cross-pearlback-from-long-exile/
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