Australian Blog

Whaling in Australia

Most of us know about convicts being transported to Australia by ship. However, did you know that as early as 1791 those same ships were used to hunt whales after dropping off the convicts?

Until 1833 whaling was Australia's first primary industry coming ahead of wool as an export commodity. Over 300 American whaling ships also operated off the Western Australian coast in 1840. As late as the 1970s over 1,000 sperm whales were killed at the last Australian whaling station at Frenchman Bay, WA. This stopped when The Whale Protection Act in 1981 prohibited whaling in Australian waters.

The last Australian-based whaling fleet ended operation in 1978. World-
wide the number of whales killed that same year was 28,240 whales. Of that number, the most were caught by the USSR (12,139), Japan (8,999 whales) and Peru (1,511).

Some of the whales traveling through Australian waters (in order of size): Blue Whale (40 metres), Finback or Rorqual (25m), Sperm Whale (20m), Southern Right Whale (18m), Humpback (15m), Little Piked Whale (10m), Killer Whale (9m), False Killer Whale (6m), Pigmy Whales (6m), Pigmy Sperm Whale (4m).

For our American friends ... 40m = 131.2 ft, 25m = 82 ft, 20m = 65.6 ft, 18m = 59.1 ft, 15m = 49.2 ft, 10m = 32.8 ft, 9m = 29.5 ft, 6m = 19.7 ft, 4m = 13.1 ft.

More Questions

Donna is looking for a poem about dogs. She thinks it's called "the bush dance" or something similar.

Gayle is looking for a poem she learned in school that starts off with "On the 25th April far across the sea our brave Australian soldiers stormed Gallipoli".

If you know either or both of these poems, please let us know and we'll send the info to them.

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9 February 1788 — Rogues March is said to be the first named piece of music performed in Australia. It was played at the drumming-out of a sailor who had been caught in the women convict's tents.
 
In 1788 First Fleet ships' crews held a rowing race becoming the first sporting event held in Australia.

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