Whaling off Norfolk Island
The whaling before Norfolk Iceland based on two whaling stations in Norfolk Iceland , an Australian island in the Pacific .
The first location of a whaling station on Norfolk Island was at Ball Bay (also Bally Bay ). After 194 islanders were relocated from Pitcairn in 1856, whaling began with rowboats. In the beginning whaling was done on a small scale, because the rowing boats could only be used close to the coast and harpooning was done by hand until 1900. Then there was the use of harpoon rifles, but the old manual technique was still used. It wasn't until the 1930s that more effective rowing boats began to be used, which could travel up to 10 miles from the coast.
In 1955 the second whaling station was built on Norfolk Island in Cascade Bay . Rowing boats were no longer used, but three motor-driven ships with steel hulls, only the largest of which had a harpoon gun. The two small ships only assisted with the catch. On the beach of Cascade Bay , the whales were no longer pulled ashore by hand, but with mechanical assistance, and then felled (dismantled) in a whale factory. Initially, the catch quotas set by the Australian government were met. However, the catch quota collapsed in 1962, after which whaling on Norfolk Island was no longer economical and came to an end.
Ball Bay whaling station
After 194 people from Pitcairn , including descendants of the mutiny on the Bounty , were resettled on June 8, 1856 on the three- master Morayshire to Norfolk Island , they are said to have been instructed in whaling by American seamen. The new islanders have largely worked in the whaling industry that emerged later.
The fishing boats originally used had to be rowed by four men and could stay at sea for up to four and a half days. Fires were lit on the cliffs of Ball Bay to make it easier for them to return in the fog and night . The whales were shot with self-forged harpoons and then dragged into the bay to be pulled onto the beach. The whale's bacon was mainly processed into whale oil in large kettles that were fired with wood. These kettles originated from the time of British colonization, when Norfolk Island was a convict colony . The whale oil, which had to be boiled for hours from the bacon in the cauldrons, was put in large steel containers. The whale oil was poured into barrels for transport.
The first report of successful whaling was in November 1864. In August 1887, four humpback whales were harpooned from boats.
In 1887 there were three whaling companies, two small ones with two fishing boats each and one large one with four fishing boats. Each rowboat was manned by four sailors. There are also reports of whaling accidents from 1887: A sailor drowned when a whale smashed the fishing boat and another accident occurred while flensing (cutting) a whale.
In 1888 12 whales were shot, from which about 44 tons of whale oil could be produced.
In 1890 27 whales were harpooned, which was the most successful whaling year. This catch brought about 100 tons of whale oil. From September 1893 four companies were active in whaling, so eight boats were in use.
A fishing boat used a harpoon rifle, a darting lance gun , for the first time . This rifle created an internal explosion when hit and should kill him immediately. The use of this weapon was also dangerous, because in 1909 the harpoon exploded outside the whale's body when the fishing boat lay next to it.
In the years 1925 to 1928 the catch rate decreased because the whales no longer passed close to the coast and the previously used boat technology was insufficient to hunt whales in distant sea areas and to drag them to the coast.
In 1938 a new company was chasing whales off Norfolk Island with three more fully manned rowing boats. These boats had a new design and were able to operate up to 10 miles offshore. Three whales were shot within three weeks and hopes were raised that enough money could be made to meet the new challenges of whaling. A new whaling station should also be built.
In 1950 the Ball Bay whaling station burned down completely, the reason for this is unknown. That was the end of the whaling off Ball Bay .
Cascade Bay whaling station
A new era in whaling began in 1955 when Anderson Meat Company Ltd. , Which was already Byron Bay Whaling Company Pty. Ltd. founded another subsidiary, Norfolk Island Whaling Company Ltd. founded and built a new polling station at Cascade Bay on Norfold Island. This whaling station was mechanized and, in contrast to the Ball Bay whaling station, the flensing (dismantling) was carried out with mechanical support.
In August 1956, the Byron I , which was used in front of both Norfold Island Whaling Station and the Byron Bay Whaling Station , began whaling. It was equipped with a harpoon gun. The Norfolk Island Whaling Company had an annual quota of 120 whale specimens from the Australian government. On August 26th, the Anderson Meat Company was sold to the two whaling companies for £ 320,000. Both companies were in turn sold shortly afterwards to Pacific Sea Products Inc. in San Francisco , USA , which had an interest in frozen whale meat . The first year whale hunt was so successful that the annual quota had already been met by October 27, 1956.
At the beginning of the next whaling season the whaling company on Norfolk Island received a new and larger whaler , the 32.27 meter long Norfolk Whaler . It was equipped with the harpoon gun of the Byron I and did not have a wooden hull like the Byron I , but one made of steel. This meant more security if an injured whale attacked. The Norfolk Waler was assisted by two smaller whalers, the Winston Whaler and the Cascade Whaler .
The approved catch quotas were 150 whales in 1956, 50 whales each in 1957 and 1958 and 170 whales each from 1959 to 1962. However, only eight whales were shot in the 1962 fishing season and the Norfolk Island Company went bankrupt. The whaling station on Cascade Bay was then dismantled and destroyed, except for the remains of the concrete foundations nothing reminds of the past.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Morayshire , on Pitcairn Encyclopedia. Retrieved July 20, 2019
- ^ History of Norfolk Islanders - The Norfolk Islanders , on Norfolk online news. Retrieved July 20, 2019
- ^ Keith Boulton: Early History. The Whaling Industry of Norfold Island (PDF), on Maritim Museum Queensland, pp. 6-8. Retrieved July 20, 2019
- ^ Keith Boulton: Early History. The Whaling Industry of Norfold Island (PDF), on Maritim Museum Queensland, pp. 9-10. Retrieved July 20, 2019
- ^ Keith Boulton: Early History. The Whaling Industry of Norfold Island (PDF), on Maritim Museum Queensland, p. 10. Retrieved July 20, 2019