NEW ZEALAND WHALING 249 



ward migration the majority of the cows are lactating and the calves not much more 

 than 15 ft. long — evidently newly born. Mr Cook stated that many of the cows with 

 sucking calves of about this length are also carrying foetuses about 2 in. in length. In 

 October Lillie saw a foetus 2I in. in length. The south-bound whales have a greater 

 or lesser quantity of food in the stomach, while the stomachs of the north-bound 

 whales are nearly always empty. Matthews (1932), from the various accounts given 

 to him, identifies the food of New Zealand whales as the Grimothea larva of Munida 

 gregaria. This animal occurs in shoals around the coast and Mr Cook spoke of it as 

 colouring the sea red. The present author had no opportunity of verifying any of the 

 somewhat confused descriptions which he heard of this "whale feed", but Matthews 

 is in no doubt about its identity. 



Occasional Right whales are taken at the Whangamumu station. When the steam 

 whale-catcher was first built Mr Cook made an expedition with it to Campbell Island, 

 having heard reports of numerous Right whales in that area: the expedition was, 

 however, unsuccessful. 



During the month of June, around the Friendly Islands, the copulation of Humpback 

 whales has been observed. According to Mr Cook the animals lie together in the water 

 obliquely with the axes of their bodies at an angle of about 45° with the surface and 

 their ventral surfaces apposed, so that only their heads project. The male assumes the 

 uppermost position and embraces the female with his flippers. 



The Tory Channel whaling station at Te-Awaiti was established in 1909 by Mr 

 Joseph Perano, who was a fisherman without previous experience of whaling. He has 

 evolved a unique method of chase and capture without any knowledge at all of Norwegian 

 methods. 



Shore whaling stations were situated in Tory Channel in the old bay whaling days. 

 The region of Queen Charlotte and Marlborough Sounds is remarkable in that it is 

 an area of very recent post-Pleistocene subsidence, which " drowned " the valleys between 

 the mountains, leaving in their place long parallel fjords, often less than two miles 

 across. The Tory Channel is a narrow strip of water at the outer end of this system 

 of fjords connecting Queen Charlotte Sound with Cook Strait. The whaling ships found 

 these tortuous channels difficult to negotiate and resorted to the more convenient 

 Cloudy Bay. Tory Channel was therefore left entirely to the shore establishments 

 and, during the bay whaling period, quite a large number of stations were operating in 

 the channel. When they were all fully working and bay whaling was at its height some 

 twenty boats used to go out from Te-Awaiti alone. The earliest station at Te-Awaiti 

 was that of Captain John Guard, who was driven into Tory Channel in 1827, when 

 in command of a sealing expedition. He built a home for himself and, as seals became 

 scarcer in the neighbourhood, took up the chase of the Right whale, "with great risk 

 and annoyance from the natives", who frequently burnt down his buildings, "and no 

 profit to himself". He was unable to keep the oil of the whales he killed, owing to lack 

 of men and gear, and took only the baleen which he sold to passing ships (McNab, 1913, 



