More About Whales

The size of a small airliner!

It was a cold stormy day and we headed to Albany to learn more about whales. From 1951-1978 thousands of humpbacks and sperm whales  were slaughtered here. When we entered the site, it was easy to imagine the carnage on this stormy inhospitable day. Our guide spent 40 minutes leading us around and explaining the process of flensing, stripping off the blubber,  and cooking it down to get the valuable whale oil and whale products. Apparently the waters  of Frenchman's Bay were crimson with blood and seething with frenzied sharks which one person was hired to shoot nonstop to keep them from feasting on the dead whales. The stench was overpowering and impossible for the workers to clean off. Children of workers were teased mercilessly at school. The pay was the incentive, three times higher than other jobs paid in the nearby town. The tour was good for showing us the size of the whales as they had whale skeletons on display. A pygmy Blue Whale skeleton was on display and was the size of a small airliner. Thankfully the whales are no longer slaughtered and though it took a few years, they've returned to this area to raise their young. Several factors led to the closing of the whale station, the cost of crude oil needed to power the boats and equipment rose, the price paid for whale oil fell and the environmentalists led a mighty campaign to stop the slaughter. The humpbacks left here  in mid-October and thankfully we saw them up at Margaret River.
Click below to view map:
http://maps.google.ca/maps?q=Albany,+WA,+Australia&hl=en&ll=-35.029996,117.883301&spn=7.429001,14.128418&sll=-35.029996,117.421875&sspn=58.031111,113.027344&vpsrc=6&hnear=Albany+Western+Australia,+Australia&t=m&z=6