Historical information

No. 9 'The Sealers". BHP "History of Bass Strait"Series. Lithograph copy in 'The Illustrated Australian News", May 4th 1881. From the La Trobe Collection, State Library, Victoria. BHP Oil and Gas Division Hematite Petroleum Pty. Ltd. From The Australian Financial Review, 15 Sep 1972

Significance

Historical

Physical description

Large, black & white lithograph of sailing vessel in rough seas showing seals and rocks, with typed explanation.

Inscriptions & markings

In the early of the nineteenth century, The sealers took cargoes of up to 100,000 skins per ship. Within 10 years, there were virtually no seals left. Today, the seals are returning to Bass Strait and colonies of them are thriving around the five BHP and Esso offshore production platforms. We enjoy having them around. And we've even made them the stars of "Solstice", a film we've made to encourage an interest in preserving the ecology of Bass Strait.