Whaling in the contact period schoolhistory.co.nz

Ocean Whaling

The first whaling ship from America arrived in Ocean whaling was well established by 1802.

Whale oil was in high demand in an increasingly industrialised West.

Whalers were visitors rather than settlers whaling ships visited the Bay of Islands.

Maori gained mana from working on whaling ships and travelled to London, Australia and the USA and became part of an international pool of whalers Chief Ruatara spent four years on a whaler.

Whalers who stopped off at the Bay of Islands traded blankets, nails and guns for potatoes, pork, firewood, spars, women and Maori labour. Maori trading for guns led to the Musket Wars of the 1820s.

British whalers were most frequent visitors but by the late 1830s it was the Americans and the French who were most common. Whalers visited between November and April for 2-5 weeks.

Ngai Tahu had its own whaling ships.

Maori women often entered into sexual contracts with the whalers. In return for sex they received a gun for their chief and a dress for themselves. Ex-ship girls were in demand as wives by Maori men

By the 1830s Kororareka had become notorious. Whalers were often accused of being ‘agents of vice’.

Up to one thousand Maori may have travelled overseas by 1840

SHORE WHALING

Shore whaling began in 1827 developing a more permanent population. Shore whalers depended on local Maori for food.

Intermarriage between whalers and Maori women gave protection to the whalers and access to goods and exposure to a new culture for Maori. Nearly all the shore whalers came from Australia.

There were 80 whaling stations set up between Each station had around 1-2 dozen Europeans who whaled for half the year.

Johnny Jones of Waikouaiti had eight whaling stations employing 280 men. In 1838 they caught 41 whales yielding 145 tons of oil valued at ₤4,500. There were no duties to pay on whale oil before 1840.

Most shore stations had closed by the 1850s because the Right Whale had become scarce. The last whale was commercially hunted in NZ in 1964

Summary Unlike the missionaries and other settlers, the whalers and sealers did not attempt to change Maori. Rather, Maori were exposed to a new culture. Some Maori joined with the whalers and sealers to exploit the natural resources

Whale watching has subsequently become an important tourist attraction in NZ

The End schoolhistory.co.nz