Whaling - Victor Harbor, SA, Australia
S 35° 34.500 E 138° 36.139
54H E 282728 N 6060542
This Historical Marker details the history of whaling in the region.
Waymark Code: WMZ7WB
Location: South Australia, Australia
Date Posted: 09/24/2018
Views: 3
This large printed metal sign is held within a metal pipe frame, overlooking Encounter Bay. It reads:
WHALING
"Whaling was South Australia'a first industry. It was already in operation on Kangaroo Island before the colony was established in 1836.
"Two on-shore whaling stations operated from Victor Harbor in the 1800s. The South Australian Company, operated its station near the Bluff. By the end of 1837 more than two hundred tons of whale oil was exported from these whaling stations. A lookout was built, and manned on the Bluff. When a whale was sighted a crew of seven men would rush for their boats, kept in readiness on the beach, and try to harpoon the whale. To bring in a sixty tone whale could take many hours and was both dangerous and very hard work.
"Rivalry and even ill-feeling existed between the whalers of the two stations. When a whale was sighted in the bay, boats from the rival stations would race to be first to harpoon the animal. The whale was towed to the beach and stripped of its fatty flesh, or blubber, which was boiled in large iron pots."
Address: Franklin Parade, Victor Harbor, SA, 5211, Australia
Visited: 0700, Tuesday, 29 May, 2018