Western Australia

We had reservations about visiting this place because of the history.

Initial being confronted by such slaughtering of such beautiful creatures is quite overwhelming, photo’s and video’s as you explore this place are extremely confronting and standing where such brutality happened was quite surreal.

I found it really hard to watch or look at the information regarding the processing and almost could’nt stomach standing on the processing deck of the whaling station that had been left the same as when it closed in 1978.
The cold atmosphere and space of that deck, the pictures in the room at the side of the processing of these mamuals almost froze you to the spot , the size of the saw to cut off its head , the pully system to hoist up the dead animal , the pot holes in the floor where the blubber was feed into to boil , a framed photo of the station took from the air of the coast staturated in blood.

Some of these retired whalers now volunteer on site, greeting visitors to the ship and answering questions about the past , we had the opportunity to speak to Jon, from sixteen year’s old he had worked on the ship on show at the station and when they finally brought the whaling to close in Australia he moved on to have a career in the prison system. Jon was happy to exchanged conversation and answer our questions about why whaling was a big industry, whole towns relied on the income, long hours, dangerous.
One time he did think “this is it” when caught in a storm. People have had a go at him whilst he’s volunteer here over the years regards to him being an ex whaler and it’s real hard to believe he was part of this. A very interesting bloke to talk to whole intends to write a book.

The footage we did see indicated at first it was a job then the local whalers became aware of these intelligent creatures of the sea, seeing the pictures of the processing of the whales ,blood everywhere, bits and pieces of the whales everywhere with locals and the local kids viewing the process as everyday life is so far removed from anything we are use to nowadays, it just showed how the industry was “another” way of giving employment and a better life of these families at the expense of nature. Not for the faint hearted ,these pictures and video’s can't be unseen, we came away with a better understanding of the industry , why this industry exsisted and still exsists and remorsful and effected by how ,once again humans can be part of something so brutal for a job, has it changed my opinon? Yes but there’s a big but! It doesent make it anymore exceptable and until it stops completly around the world.

Albany’s Historic Whaling Station are custodians of the unique whaling history of not only the town but of Australia also, as it was here that the very last whale hunted in Australian waters was harpooned. In Australia, whaling existed well before wheat and wool, and as the most intact whale processing factory open to visitors in the world we are able to bring whaling stories to life in a manner that no other whaling museum can.

Sperm whale oil, or spermaceti, was primarily used for lighting lamps, as a lubricant, and in the production of candles. It was also used in margarine until the 1940s and, to a lesser extent, in certain toiletries and pharmaceuticals.

Whaling is illegal in most countries, but Iceland, Norway and Japan are still actively whaling. Over a thousand whales are killed every year to sell their meat and body parts for commercial purposes. Their oil, fat and cartilage are used in medicines and dietary supplements.

Thousands of approved patents list whale oil, cartilage and spermaceti, a waxy liquid found in the head cavities of sperm whales, as ingredients in products as diverse as golf balls, hair dye, eco-friendly cleaning products, candy, health drinks and biodiesel.

The Cheynes Beach Whaling Company (CBWC), the site where we are located, was the last whaling company to cease operations in Australia, closing in November 1978.Read more