This is a paper back book of 176 pages. The pages are bound together. The cover is blue card with silver-coloured wording and illustrations of whales. There are 829 photographs and illustrations. The historical material contained in the pages is handwritten and photocopied. non-fictionScrapbook style book history of early Port Fairy and Portlandwhaling, port fairy, portland, shipwrecks

A harpoon is a long, spear-like instrument used in fishing, whaling, sealing, and other marine hunting activities to catch large fish or marine mammals, such as whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal and securing it with barbs or toggling claws, allowing the fishermen to use a rope or chain attached to the projectile to catch the animal. The earliest known harpoons have been dated back to being made and used approximately 90,000 years ago. In the early whaling industry, the two-flue harpoon was the primary weapon used around the world. The two fluke harpoons tended to penetrate no deeper than the soft outer layer of a whale's blubber. So, it was often possible for the whale to escape by struggling or swimming away forcefully enough to pull the shallowly embedded barbs out backwards. This design flaw was corrected in the early nineteenth century with the creation of the one-fluke harpoon. By removing one of the flukes, the head of the harpoon was narrowed, making it easier for it to penetrate deep enough to hold fast. In the Arctic, the indigenous people used the more advanced toggling harpoon design, and by the mid-19th century, the toggling harpoon was adapted by Lewis Temple. The Temple toggle was widely used and quickly came to dominate the whaling industry.The hand-forged harpoon demonstrates the blacksmith's art for fashioning an item used during the early 19th century in the significant industry of whaling. Harpoons were used during a time when the world depended on the natural resources derived from whales; oil for lighting, lubrication, margarine, candles, soaps and cosmetics, as well as the use of the whale's bones for various other items such as corsets, umbrellas, fertiliser and animal feed. The item is significant as it was probably made between 1820 and 1850, after which a single fluke and toggle harpoon began to be used extensively in the whaling industry. Also coming into general use was a black powder gun to fire the harpoon rather than the early type that had to be manually thrown by a mariner from a row boat, of which the subject item is an example.Harpoon: a hand forged, double fluke, steel whaling harpoon with an arrowhead tip on a square shank. The shank tapers to a narrow round shaft with a split metal cone to accommodate a wooden harpoon pole. The harpoon was restored in the 2010s using traditional blacksmithing methods, with the shaft and cone added to the original arrowhead and shank. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, harpoon, whaling, whaling harpoon, fishing industry, whales, one-fluke, two-fluk, lewis temple, marine technology

Only known one is in the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa, Tongarew. Flensing Iron, also called a “Cutting Spade”, used in the whaling industry to cut the blubber. Has Scorrar London etched into blade"Scorrar London" etched into bladeflagstaff hill, warrnambool, shipwrecked coast, flagstaff hill maritime museum, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, flagstaff hill maritime village, great ocean road, flensing, flensing iron, whaling, blubber, scorrar, cutting spade

This try-pot is one of a set of three. Whalers used large iron pots, called try-pots to liquefy large chunks of whale blubber down into oil. Early on in the history of whaling, small whaling boats had no means to process blubber at sea and had to bring it into whaling stations for processing at shore-based try-works. Later, when bay whaling evolved and large scale vessel were utilised for hunting whales, try pots were mounted onto the top deck. This advance had its benefits as the processing facilities were mobile, whalers could move operations to follow whales and discover new whaling grounds. The deceased whale would be tied up alongside the ship, the crewmen cut away the blubber, or outer fat layer, in long strips. They hauled the strips aboard, cut them into smaller pieces, and tossed them into boiling cauldrons on deck to render the fat into oil. The whale oil was stored in barrels in the cargo hold, and brought to put for sale. The oil was much sought after as a good quality fuel tor heating, light and lubrication. Try pots were used in the whaling industry, one of the very early industries in Colonial Australia, including here on the southwest coast of Victoria. The high grade oil was a much sought after product and used for essential services such as fuelling the lights of the lighthouses. Commercial whaling ceased in Australia in 1979.Try pot, one of a set of three. A large cast-iron cauldron of about 200 gallons in capacity. Round metal container with rounded base and flat extended lip. flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, try pot, trypot, cauldron, whale oil, whaling, fuel

This try-pot is one of a set of three. Whalers used large iron pots, called try-pots to liquefy large chunks of whale blubber down into oil. Early on in the history of whaling, small whaling boats had no means to process blubber at sea and had to bring it into whaling stations for processing at shore-based try-works. Later, when bay whaling evolved and large scale vessel were utilised for hunting whales, try pots were mounted onto the top deck. This advance had its benefits as the processing facilities were mobile, whalers could move operations to follow whales and discover new whaling grounds. The deceased whale would be tied up alongside the ship, the crewmen cut away the blubber, or outer fat layer, in long strips. They hauled the strips aboard, cut them into smaller pieces, and tossed them into boiling cauldrons on deck to render the fat into oil. The whale oil was stored in barrels in the cargo hold, and brought to put for sale. The oil was much sought after as a good quality fuel tor heating, light and lubrication. Try pots were used in the whaling industry, one of the very early industries in Colonial Australia, including here on the southwest coast of Victoria. The high grade oil was a much sought after product and used for essential services such as fuelling the lights of the lighthouses. Commercial whaling ceased in Australia in 1979.Try pot, one of a set of three. A large cast-iron cauldron of about 200 gallons in capacity. Round metal container with rounded base and flat extended lip. It was used to heat whale blubber to remove the oil.flagstaff hill, warrnambool, maritime museum, shipwreck coast, try pot, trypot, cauldron, whale oil, whaling, fuel