BY W. LODKWVK ( KOM'THKH, D S.O., M.B. 131 



Returning to V.D.L. in 1841, he joined the Tasmanian 

 Society, and was one of the thirty-six resident members 

 when it became the Royal Society in 1843. In England 

 he had begun his lifelong friendship with Sir William 

 Flower, the great comparative anatomist, who filled suc- 

 cessively the positions of Conservator and Huntcrian Pro- 

 fessor of the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons, 

 Director of the Natural History Museum, and President 

 of tho Zoological Society. Sir William about 1860 com- 

 menced his studies on the "Cttaren," and enlisted the aid 

 of my grandfather, who during the late oO's and 60's had 

 a whaling fleet cruising with varying success through tho 

 different whaling grounds of Oceania. The latter first 

 sent two skeletons of Orca, which Sir William classfiied 

 as Orca meridiandli^. (P.Z.S. 1864). Other specimens 

 were sent at intervals for several years to the Museum 

 of the Royal College of Surgeons. Tliev embraced 34 

 catalogue folios and 8 genera of whales, and included 15 

 full skeletons. Among others the large adult skeleton 

 of the male Sperm whale which dominates the Museum of 

 tho College of Surgeons was forwarded in 1869. In this 

 year my grandfather was awarded the Fellowship of the 

 Royal College of Surgeons and their Gold Ilonour ^ledal. 

 I believe the first occasion on which it had been conferred 

 on an Australian. In 1878 he was Premier of the Colony, 

 and died on the I'Jth of April, 1885. The fortunes of 

 his whaling ships 1 shall touch on later in my paper. 



INTRODUCTION. 



I shall not attempt any scientific classifications of tho 

 whales met with and taken in Southern waters. The 

 names employed are those used by the Whaling Captains 

 for the various whales they met with while at sea. 



They all, however, fall into one of two families: — 

 (1» Mystacoceti, i.e., Whale Bono Whales. 

 (2) Odontoceti, i.e.. Tooth Whales. 



Odontoceti. 

 "Sperm Whnlf-" (I'hifseter macnicephalux). This will 

 be dealt with fully under deep sea whaling. Ranging 

 through the Southern Ocean and up to 80 feet in length 

 the adult gave on an average 9 tuns of Oil. One taken 

 by the "Marengo" gave 15A tuns, valued at £1,500, and 

 another taken by the "Elizabeth Jane" off the S.W. Cape, 

 13 tuns. The oil a clear amber colour, one-third of which 

 came from the head. 



