248 DISCOVERY REPORTS 



many respects by that which follows. The station was established for the purpose of 

 taking the Humpback whales which come close in shore along the coast of New Zealand. 

 Right whales and Blue or Fin whales are very rarely taken. The total catches at both 

 of the New Zealand stations are very small, seldom exceeding 70 whales, and averaging 

 about 50 whales, in a season. 



At Whangamumu open boats and hand harpoons were used at first for the capture 

 of Humpbacks. The method used was an unusual one. A rope cable was stretched 

 between a rock and the shore, across a channel some 50 yards wide, or was buoyed out 

 from the shore in positions where whales were known to pass regularly and were likely 

 to be intercepted. Sections of net were suspended from the cable and the whales became 

 entangled in them (Plate XHI, fig. i). In their struggles to free themselves they used to 

 carry away sections of the net, so that their progress was impeded and they became an 

 easy prey for the harpooner. The nets were at first made of rope but later meshes made 

 of I in. wire, shackled together, were found to be more durable and less bulky. A similar 

 process has been used in Japan for the capture of Humpbacks in shallow channels 

 (Mobius, 1893). However, the largest annual catch by means of the nets was only 

 nineteen whales. 



In 1910 a steam whaler was built for the firm and the use of the nets was abandoned. 

 The station now uses this catcher and two fast motor-boats mounted with light harpoon 

 guns. These boats are of the same type as those used by the Te-Awaiti station, illustrated 

 in Plate XI, fig. 2. The average catch per season amounts to 50 to 60 Humpback whales, 

 while 70 is a record catch. About 5 tons (30 barrels) of oil per whale are obtained. 

 The whole of the carcase is used, the blubber being reduced in open boilers and the 

 meat and bone in pressure boilers. Bone meal and guano are made from the residues. 

 The station is modelled upon Norwegian lines but is on a relatively very small scale. 

 The workers are all Maoris whose families have been in the firm's employment since 

 the inception of the station. 



The station operates for two separate periods each year. The first period covers the 

 months of June, July and part of August. The second period begins on October i and 

 continues until the end of November. During the first of these two periods the whales 

 are travelling northwards. Lillie wrote (p. no), "The first whales began to pass the 

 Bay of Islands on their way northward about the middle of April. They continued to 

 go north until the end of August. The greatest number passed northward of this locality 

 in May and the early part of June ". During the October-November period the whales 

 are travelling southwards. "After the middle of September", continued Lillie, "at the 

 Bay of Islands, the first members of the long procession were seen going southwards. 

 The majority passed south of the Bay during October and by the middle of December 

 they were all south of this place." 



The direction of the Humpbacks' seasonal migration is thus opposite to that of the 

 Right whales but occurs at the same time of year. At the beginning of the season the 

 majority of the cows are carrying large foetuses. In July Lillie saw a foetus 13I ft. in 

 length ; the length of the Humpback calf at birth being about 15 ft. During the south- 



