Whaling in Australia
Encyclopedia
Whaling
in Australia
took place from colonisation
in 1788. In 1979 Australia terminated whaling and committed to whale protection. The main varieties hunted were Humpback
, Blue
, Right
and Sperm Whale
s.
or Torres Strait Islander
people traditionally hunting whales , although it is said that aboriginal people did hunt with killer whales, in stories recounted at the Eden Killer Whale Museum
. Aborigines were employed as boatcrew by some whaling masters.
Leaving Port Jackson
in November 1791, Captain Eber Bunker
of the William and Ann and Captain William Raven of the Britannia led the first ever whaling expedition in Australian waters. The two ships returned to Port Jackson with one whale each, which they processed on the shore. Bunker and Raven led a second expedition to Dusky Sound
in New Zealand
before returning to England with seal skins, in addition to whale oil.
Whale oil
and baleen
(whalebone) were profitable commodities and whaling was one Australia's first major export industries with coastal whaling stations helping build Australia. Sealing and whaling contributed more to the colonial economy than land produce until the 1830s.
From colonisation the whaling industry enjoyed 70 years of commercial success, until petroleum
superseded whale oil. Also, the 1850s gold rush
saw workers abandon whaling for the gold fields.
In the early twentieth century agriculture and mining suppressed a return to whaling. However, Norwegian
whalers took an interest in the Australian waters and the Western Australia
n government encouraged whaling to develop new locations along its coast.
From 1952 until 1962 a whaling station operated at Tangalooma, Queensland
, on Moreton Island
, which harvested and processed 6277 Humpback Whale
s during that period. It was forced to close after it had drastically reduced the number of whales in the eastern Australian Humpback population.
In 1978 the Federal Government
appointed Sir Sydney Frost, a former chief justice of Papua New Guinea
, to conduct an inquiry into whales and whaling. This followed a direct pro-whale action campaign in Albany and a national community campaign by groups including Project Jonah, Friends of the Earth and the Whale and Dolphin Coalition.
Greenpeace co-founder Canadian Bob Hunter
came to Albany in August 1977 to take charge of a direct action campaign against the three whale chaser ships operating from Albany, Western Australia. Zodiacs were taken 30 miles out to sea to place people between harpoons and the whales. This was the first Greenpeace campaign in Australia. Key members of the Whale and Dolphin Coalition, including Jonny Lewis and Richard Jones, then formed Greenpeace Australia.
On 31 July 1978, the first day of the Frost inquiry public hearings, the Cheynes Beach Whaling Company announced its intention to close operations at the end of that whaling season. Cheynes Beach had operated from Frenchman Bay near Albany, Western Australia, since 1952. The last whale, a sperm whale, was harpooned on 20 November 1978.
Sir Sydney's report, Whales and Whaling: Report of the Independent Inquiry, recommended banning whaling in Australia, and in April 1979 the Fraser
government endorsed it. Australia is now a global anti-whaling advocate and has taken a strong stance against Japan's whaling program
in the Antarctic Ocean.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that whale populations, especially humpbacks, have been steadily increasing since the end of whaling in Australian waters. The current state of the sperm whale population in the Southern Ocean off Western Australia is unknown. Whale watching
is an increasingly popular activity.
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
took place from colonisation
History of Australia (1788-1850)
The history of Australia from 1788–1850 covers the early colonies period of Australia's history, from the arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Sydney to establish the penal colony of New South Wales in 1788 to the European exploration of the continent and establishment of other colonies...
in 1788. In 1979 Australia terminated whaling and committed to whale protection. The main varieties hunted were Humpback
Humpback Whale
The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...
, Blue
Blue Whale
The blue whale is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales . At in length and or more in weight, it is the largest known animal to have ever existed....
, Right
Right whale
Right whales are three species of large baleen whales consisting of two genera in the family Balaenidae of order Cetacea. Their bodies are very dark gray or black and rotund....
and Sperm Whale
Sperm Whale
The sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, is a marine mammal species, order Cetacea, a toothed whale having the largest brain of any animal. The name comes from the milky-white waxy substance, spermaceti, found in the animal's head. The sperm whale is the only living member of genus Physeter...
s.
History
There is no record of Australian AboriginalIndigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
or Torres Strait Islander
Torres Strait Islanders
Torres Strait Islanders are the indigenous people of the Torres Strait Islands, part of Queensland, Australia. They are culturally and genetically linked to Melanesian peoples and those of Papua New Guinea....
people traditionally hunting whales , although it is said that aboriginal people did hunt with killer whales, in stories recounted at the Eden Killer Whale Museum
Eden Killer Whale Museum
The Eden Killer Whale Museum is a museum in Eden, New South Wales, Australia. It was originally built to house the skeleton of the orca "Old Tom" and tell its story...
. Aborigines were employed as boatcrew by some whaling masters.
Leaving Port Jackson
Port Jackson
Port Jackson, containing Sydney Harbour, is the natural harbour of Sydney, Australia. It is known for its beauty, and in particular, as the location of the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge...
in November 1791, Captain Eber Bunker
Eber Bunker
Eber Bunker was a sea captain and pastoralist, born on 7 March 1761 at Plymouth, Massachusetts. His parents were James Bunker and his wife Hannah, née Shurtleff.-1776-1786: Background:...
of the William and Ann and Captain William Raven of the Britannia led the first ever whaling expedition in Australian waters. The two ships returned to Port Jackson with one whale each, which they processed on the shore. Bunker and Raven led a second expedition to Dusky Sound
Dusky Sound
Dusky Sound is a fiord on the south west corner of New Zealand, in Fiordland National Park.-Geography:One of the most complex of the many fjords on this coast, it is also one of the largest, 40 kilometres in length and eight kilometres wide at its widest point...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
before returning to England with seal skins, in addition to whale oil.
Whale oil
Whale oil
Whale oil is the oil obtained from the blubber of various species of whales, particularly the three species of right whale and the bowhead whale prior to the modern era, as well as several other species of baleen whale...
and baleen
Baleen
Baleen or whalebone is a filter-feeder system inside the mouths of baleen whales. The baleen system works when a whale opens its mouth underwater and then water pours into the whale's mouth. The whale then pushes the water out, and animals such as krill are filtered by the baleen and remain as food...
(whalebone) were profitable commodities and whaling was one Australia's first major export industries with coastal whaling stations helping build Australia. Sealing and whaling contributed more to the colonial economy than land produce until the 1830s.
From colonisation the whaling industry enjoyed 70 years of commercial success, until petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
superseded whale oil. Also, the 1850s gold rush
Victorian gold rush
The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. In 10 years the Australian population nearly tripled.- Overview :During this era Victoria dominated the world's gold output...
saw workers abandon whaling for the gold fields.
In the early twentieth century agriculture and mining suppressed a return to whaling. However, Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
whalers took an interest in the Australian waters and the Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
n government encouraged whaling to develop new locations along its coast.
From 1952 until 1962 a whaling station operated at Tangalooma, Queensland
Tangalooma, Queensland
Originally a whaling station, Tangalooma is a resort township on the west side of Moreton Island in Queensland, Australia. It lies on the eastern shore of Moreton Bay and is known for its resort accommodation, dolphin-feeding program, sand dunes and wreck diving. Swimming is popular along the...
, on Moreton Island
Moreton Island
Moreton Island is a large sand island on the eastern side of Moreton Bay, on the coast of south-east Queensland, Australia. Moreton Island lies 58 kilometres northeast of the Queensland capital, Brisbane. The island is 95% National Park and a popular destination for four wheel driving, camping,...
, which harvested and processed 6277 Humpback Whale
Humpback Whale
The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...
s during that period. It was forced to close after it had drastically reduced the number of whales in the eastern Australian Humpback population.
In 1978 the Federal Government
Government of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
appointed Sir Sydney Frost, a former chief justice of Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
, to conduct an inquiry into whales and whaling. This followed a direct pro-whale action campaign in Albany and a national community campaign by groups including Project Jonah, Friends of the Earth and the Whale and Dolphin Coalition.
Greenpeace co-founder Canadian Bob Hunter
Robert Hunter (journalist)
Robert Lorne Hunter was a Canadian environmentalist, journalist, author and politician. A member of the Don't Make a Wave Committee in 1969 with Dorothy and Irving Stowe, Marie and Jim Bohlen, and Ben and Dorothy Metcalfe...
came to Albany in August 1977 to take charge of a direct action campaign against the three whale chaser ships operating from Albany, Western Australia. Zodiacs were taken 30 miles out to sea to place people between harpoons and the whales. This was the first Greenpeace campaign in Australia. Key members of the Whale and Dolphin Coalition, including Jonny Lewis and Richard Jones, then formed Greenpeace Australia.
On 31 July 1978, the first day of the Frost inquiry public hearings, the Cheynes Beach Whaling Company announced its intention to close operations at the end of that whaling season. Cheynes Beach had operated from Frenchman Bay near Albany, Western Australia, since 1952. The last whale, a sperm whale, was harpooned on 20 November 1978.
Sir Sydney's report, Whales and Whaling: Report of the Independent Inquiry, recommended banning whaling in Australia, and in April 1979 the Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
government endorsed it. Australia is now a global anti-whaling advocate and has taken a strong stance against Japan's whaling program
Whaling in Japan
Whaling in Japan may have begun as early as the 12th century. During the 20th century, Japan was heavily involved in commercial whaling until the International Whaling Commission moratorium on commercial whaling went into effect in 1986...
in the Antarctic Ocean.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that whale populations, especially humpbacks, have been steadily increasing since the end of whaling in Australian waters. The current state of the sperm whale population in the Southern Ocean off Western Australia is unknown. Whale watching
Whale watching
Whale watching is the practice of observing whales and other cetaceans in their natural habitat. Whales are watched most commonly for recreation but the activity can also serve scientific or educational purposes. A 2009 study, prepared for IFAW, estimated that 13 million people went whale watching...
is an increasingly popular activity.
See also
- Eden Killer Whale MuseumEden Killer Whale MuseumThe Eden Killer Whale Museum is a museum in Eden, New South Wales, Australia. It was originally built to house the skeleton of the orca "Old Tom" and tell its story...
- Whaling in Western AustraliaWhaling in Western AustraliaWhaling in Western Australia was one of the first viable industries established in the Swan River Colony following the arrival of British settlers in 1829...
- Economic history of AustraliaEconomic history of Australia-1788 - 1820:The description 'bridgehead economy' was used by one of Australia's foremost economic historians, N. G. Butlin to refer to the earliest decades of British occupation when the colony was essentially a penal institution...