IndustryBusiness A (19th Century)

Whaling, with oil the prize, first industry for the South Australian Company from start of colony to the 1850s

Whaling, with oil the prize, first industry for the South Australian Company from start of colony to the 1850s
The South Australian Company was anxious expoit the whaling industry at its 19th Century heights. Deep-sea whaling ships sought the faster sperm whales while South Australia's shore-based stations harvested southern right bay whales.
Image courtesy South Australian Maritime Museum

Profits from whaling encouraged the South Australian Company to quickly send out its ships, the Duke of York and Lady Mary Pelham, carrying the first colonists. After leaving their passengers on Kangaroo Island, both vessels went to Hobart Town to be refitted as whalers. Other company emigrant ships, the South Australian and Solway, were involved with whaling until wrecked at Encounter Bay in an 1837 gale.

The John Pirie made several trips bringing whaling hands from Hobart to Encounter Bay where the company had its whaling station.

In 1837, 40 whales were seen at one time off Glenelg. A year later, the Register newspaper reported on the colony’s second cargo of oil and whalebone going for England in the Goshawk.

Generally, deep-sea whaling ships sought the faster sperm whales and the shore-based stations harvested southern right bay whales. A report by Hart, Hagen & Baker noted 30 foreign whaling ships in South Australian waters in 1841.

More than 15 South Australian whaling depots or lookouts from that era have been identified.

The South Australian Company set up whaling stations on Thistle Island and Sleaford Bay near Port Lincoln. But, with whales becoming scarce, they soon closed. The station at Fishery Bay near Cape Jervis lasted until 1855 with several different owners. Other sites were at Cape Buffon (south east), Onkaparinga, Hog Bay (Kangaroo Island), Port Collinson and Sceale Bay (near Streaky Bay) and Spalding Cove (near Port Lincoln). Whaling ships visited Port Lincoln at the start and end of the season to take in food, water and wood.

The two best known shore-based stations were at Encounter Bay in 1837. Captain John Blenkinsop's was the first on Granite Island. The South Australian Company, managed by Samuel Stephens, was at Rosetta Head (the Bluff). Stephens rejected Blenkinsop's suggestion that they work cooperatively, as in Tasmania. So, when a whale was sighted, boats from both stations raced to intercept the animal.

To resolve the conflicts, the South Australian parliament passed an act to regulate and protect whale fisheries in 1839.

The local shore-based whalers were indignant that the foreign ships with their more modern and faster boats could come in and take the whales from their bay. In 1840, four French and American whalers were offshore and, in 1841, 30 ships were reported between Kangaroo Island and Cape Leeuwin.

By 1855, shore-based whaling was abandoned. The discovery of petroleum products in the 1860s meant whale oil was no longer such a cheap fuel. Some whaling ships still cruised the seas between Kangaroo Island and Cape Northumberland.

An attempt was made to revive the industry at Encounter Bay in 1871-72 with boats manned by Aboriginal men. At the end of the second season, only one whale had been caught.

Other related ADELAIDE AZ articles

J. A. Lawton and Sons premises on the west corner of Fenn Place (in the 1920s and 1930s building) in Adelaide city, were backed by plants in Adelaide's western suburbs. At left from top: The firm's adaptable range of manufacturing included Boer War covered wagons, H1 Class trams, Adelaide fire engines and trolley buses.
Industry >
J. A. Lawton and Sons from 1865 join South Australia builders of car bodies – plus buses, trams and fire engines
READ MORE+
The last vehicle (inset), a Commodore, off the General Motors-Holden Elizabeth plant assembly line in 2017. Above: Elizabeth production workers with a 1932 Chevrolet Roadster, built by General Motors Holden at Woodville, South Australia,
Industry >
October 2017 sees end of the line for GM-Holden Elizabeth plant and decades of mass car production in Adelaide
READ MORE+
BAE Systems will build six Hunter Class frigates for the Royal Australian Navy at Osborne shipyards.
Economy >
Six (not nine) Hunter Class RAN frigates to be built at Osborne in Adelaide under revised programme to 2042
READ MORE+
The 19th Century shipping ventures by George Fife Angas and his family was linked to the mahogany trade from British Honduras, with the exclusive use of slave labour by merchants and loggers.
Business A (19th Century) >
George Fife Angas's capitalist Christianity dichotomy tilted by big £6,345 compensation for his slave trade link
READ MORE+
The Bowman Buildings, from 1908, were an enlarged version of previous buildings on the King William Street site around an arcade that remained a feature.
Business A (19th Century) >
Bowman Buildings, and arcade, on King William Street, Adelaide, 1908 addition to a city 19th Century business hive
READ MORE+
BAE Systems and RUAG Australia have contributed to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program at their Adelaide plants.
Industry >
Airbus, Boeing, BAE and Lockheed Martin among players in South Australian aerospace
READ MORE+

 

 
©2025 Adelaide AZ | Privacy | Terms & Disclaimer | PWA 1.1.58