Grant helps conserve memory
of Solomon and the whales
They are a rare sight today, but there was once a time when killer whales were a regular – and
welcomed - presence in Twofold Bay.
Their memory will be rekindled when a rare photograph of Old Tom the Killer Whale circa 1908 is
restored using funding from the Australian National Maritime Museum.
A centrepiece at the Eden Killer Whale Museum, Old Tom was the leader of a pod of killer whales
believed to have hunted cooperatively with whalers at the turn of the 19th century.
At Eden, the killer whales herded passing whales into the shallow waters of Twofold Bay where the
whalers would row out to finish the job. Old Tom was known to have been particularly lively in his
dealings with the whalers, occasionally bumping their tow ropes and boats.
The Yuin aboriginal people, whose descendents formed the backbone of the Eden whaling crews,
are believed to have shown Eden’s whalers how to work with the killer whales to divide the spoils
of their hunt.
Old Tom finally washed ashore in 1930 and was promptly salvaged by historic Eden entrepreneur
John Logan, who knew the whale from a previous encounter in which he had tried to sink his stern.
Logan rallied the local community to have the skeleton preserved and kept it in his own house until
the Eden Killer Whale Museum was built.
“The photograph is particularly important because it was taken by CE Wellings and sits in a cedar
frame made by John Logan,” said Jodie White, Collection Manager at the Eden Killer Whale
Museum.
Charles Wellings, the son of Eden’s longest serving headmaster, was a noted Australian
photographer of whaling operations.
The $3000 grant will also be used to restore a rare collection of letters written by 19th century Eden
entrepreneur Solomon Solomon.
“The letters are the only example of a commercial agreement between whalers at the time,” Ms
White explained. “This is an urgent project for our museum.”
Solomon Solomon’s letters, which include correspondence with Tasmanian whale boat makers and
the historic Eden whaler Alexander Davidson, reveal the fierce competition which prevailed
between whalers of the day.
Solomon was desperate to get hold of the fastest boats. At the peak of the Davidson Whaling
Station, whalers were catching 10-15 whales per season for the lucrative whale oil industry.
The last whale was caught at Davidson in 1929 before the industry finally succumbed to the
competitive pressures of petroleum.
Ms White will take the letters to Canberra later this month where they will be stabilised and
rehoused in archival envelopes. The photograph will be cleaned and repaired locally.
“Whaling in Eden is an important story in Australia’s maritime history,” said Peter Rout, Assistant
Director of the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney. “We are pleased to be able to
support the conservation of these items through the Maritime Museums of Australia Project Support
Scheme (MMAPPS).”
The MMAPPS scheme, which the museum funds with Australian Government’s Distributed
National Collection Program, helps regional museums, community groups and volunteers to
promote and protect Australian maritime heritage. For more information, phone (02) 9298 3777 or
30 October 2009
Media Australian National Maritime Museum - Bill Richards (02) 9298 3645; 0418 403 472
Images and interviews are available upon request from Carmen Michael cmichael@anmm.gov.au
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