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The second group of Europeans to arrive were the
sealers and whalers who were first recorded to have visited NZ around 1791.
Initially the sealers were the most active but
by 1830, with significantly reduced seal numbers, sealing had declined to a low level.
Whale
oil was a commodity, which was in great demand. It was used for machinery
lubrication and as a clean burning fuel for lamps in Europe, Asia and America,
where the oil from the head and jaw of these mammals did not congeal in extreme
cold, nor require any form of refining, and could therefore be used to lubricate
the cogs and wheels of the most delicate of instruments such as clocks and
watches. Whaling ships came from as far away as Europe, America, Britain, France
and Australia to 'fish' the waters off New Zealand.
The earliest records of whaling in New Zealand show that the first arrival was the whaler, William and Ann in 1791 captained by Eber BUNKER and visited Doubtless Bay, Northland, NZ. Shortly after, in 1792, the Britannia under Captain RAVEN, began sealing operations in Dusky Sound (South Island). Raven left a gang in Dusky Sound for 10 months to hunt seals. William LEITH the 2nd mate was in charge of the ten other volunteers, including Thomas MOORE the ship's carpenter.
In 1795 the Endeavour captained by William Wright BAMPTON foundered and was wrecked in Dusky Sound. There were 244 people on board including 41 (or 46) escaped convicts including 1 woman. Crew and passengers were rescued by the brig Fancy, the Providence (which had been built by the crew of the Brittania a few years earlier) and the Assistance ( the longboat for the Endeavour) which all left Dusky Sound for Sydney early 1796. 35 people were left behind and eventually rescued 20 months later by the Mercury, an American sealer.
In 1796 the Mermaid sighted the Kaikoura mountains.
From 1797 American whalers
arrived, and during the 1830s the French whaling ships turned up in significant
numbers.
A shore station was
established in Dusky Sound for sealing. Seals were hunted, and their skins taken
to make hats which were fashionable in Europe and America.
In 1809 ten sealers were marooned near Open Bay
on the South West Coast. They were not rescued for 4 years until 1813. Also in
1809 Captain CHASE in the sealer
Pegasus
was the first European to enter Lyttleton harbour and named Pegasus Bay.
In 1810 five sealers and a boy James CADDELL
were attacked by Maoris after landing on Stewart Island. The men were killed but
James grew up with the Maori.
In 1815 the first Europeans to land in Canterbury
were from the sealer
Governor Bligh.
The first shore based whaling station was
established at Cloudy Bay
in 1828. By the early 1830s whaling activities were largely shore based and had
peaked with probably around a 1000 men involved in some 30 or so whaling
stations. Many of the early Whalers and Sealers stayed on in New Zealand first
as traders and often later as farmers.
In 1831 or 32 the WELLER brothers established a shore based station at Otakou, Otago.
More information is available from Whaling in New Zealand .
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