Whales To The Slaughter

The area around Albany has many attractions, natural and man-made. We spent a lovely afternoon at the Historic Whaling Station commonly known as Whale World.

This interactive museum was once the actual operation of the Cheynes Beach Whaling Station. It was the last fully operational whaling station in Australia which began operations in 1952. At its peak, the company processed between 900-1100 sperm and humpback whales each year. The whaling of humpbacks was banned in 1963 and due to dwindling stocks and the increase in fuel cost, the station struggled commercially. Environmental lobbying brought an end to the business in November of 1978. During this last year, the station processed 698 sperm whales. To me that sounds like an awful lot of whales to be killed and processed and for what purpose? Greed, certainly sounds like it even though the whalers would say it was just a job, a difficult, dangerous and smelly one. Western Australia saw this industry as a major factor in the survival of their economy. The main reason was the processing of the oil. The high quality oil was used in such businesses as NASA for space equipment and in the making of Swiss watches. 

In 1980, Whale World opened to the public as a museum of the past whaling business. The preservation of the site and building is remarkable. The site is home to the old whale chaser Cheynes IV. The three oil tanks in the background of the above photo now house theatres with a different film in each one, a 3-D movie "Giants Exists" about whales, a film on sharks and a spectravision theatre where miniaturized hologram-like figures talk about the last day of whaling. They were all very interesting and should not be missed when visiting.

Notice the harpoon at the bow of the ship

Bev standing beside a cute stone whale. Cheynes IV is in the background

 

View from an observation tower. 

Below was a display of the history of people and events at the whaling station

Ouch!! These harpoons would really do damage

Some even had explosives on the head of the harpoon

Below is the gruesome story on how a whale is processed:

1. The whale chasers set out in the wee hours of the day to find the location of the whales. In later years, airplanes were used to locate them.  Once sighted, the chase was on. The whales really had no chance. Getting harpooned, especially in the later years (note the strong and mighty harpoons in the above photos) was inevitable. The whales were either tied to the ship or other platforms while the chase continued for others. At some point they would be taken to the whaling station but in the meantime the bloody and injured whale attracted sharks. All kinds of sharks, in large numbers. As one tour guide said, "The water ran red, the sharks ran wild. The water was lousy with sharks, the men would stand here (flensing deck) and shoot them to keep them off the whale carcasses."

Securing a whale to a platform

The flensing deck today

2. At the flensing deck, the whales were stripped of their skin using hockey stick-like utensils then the blubber and muscle was into manageable chunks. The men doing the work under the hot sun are wearing rubber boots, shorts and maybe a light shirt. The pieces are then hoisted up to the cutting deck. Here is where the dangerous work starts. The head is cut by a 3 metre saw which can slice through jaws and skulls.

Hauling the whale up to the flensing deck

The utensils used to cut up the whales. They look harmless enough but...

Worker standing on a whale ready to cut into it

A difficult, messy and smelly job on the cutting deck

3. Once cut into the smaller pieces, the remaining whale is shoved into a hole on the deck which leads to the digester. It is dangerous with slippery floors and whale bits everywhere. Everyone must be careful not to fall down the holes while working. The digester is a giant steel cooker which reduces the material into a stew. Yumm!! The oil is then removed and placed into one of 3 large tanks. These tanks can hold the oil of 100 whales each.

At one point near the end of the station's life it was open to tourists.
They would stand behind wire fences watching the work that was being done.
The smell was so bad that many people stood pinching their noses.

The steam powered saw that cut through the jaws and skulls

Preparing the whales to be put into the holes leading to the digester

Notice the hole in the deck at center top of photo. The openings are not very big so
cutting the whale is a major job in order to fit.

The museum also has a large display of whale skeletons.

Entrance to the whale skeleton display

A Pygmy blue whale, 22 metres long

The skeleton of a humpback whale showing its baleen:
these fine plankton-sieving fibres are rarely seen intact. Amazing to see!

The three oil tanks that are now movie theatres. The fourth one on
the left holds a display on the history of  the company and is an observation deck at the top.

View from the observation deck

The harpoon on the bow of the Cheynes IV

Another view of the Cheynes IV

One highlight for me was walking into a small room that held the Hilda Hotker Shell Collection. It was like a room filled with jewels and I suppose you can say that the shells are the ocean's jewels. The collection showcases thousands of shell and marine artifacts. Hilda, a local resident of Albany, had collected them over the past 60 years from beaches all around Australia. When I walk on a beach, my head is down looking for the treasures swept up onto the shore by the waves. Don't you? It was amazing just to see the sheer volume of shells. Imagine, collecting that number of perfect shells. Where would you store them, in your garage, basement or under your bed? Your living room would be overflowing with them. What a delight to have seen them all displayed so artfully.

Rows and rows of shells

In perfect condition

Other sea creatures

Where would you have stored all these items at your home?

A shark shape designed by the use of shells

We had a wonderful and educational time at Whale World (Historical Whaling Station). Our guide gave us much information about the past whaling activities and lifestyle. An attraction that should not be missed.  Also located on this property was a small wildlife park which we visited and a botanical garden which we did not visit.