BY W. LODliWYK CROWTHER, D.S.O., MB. 135 



posinopolitan gathering of whalers was made possible by 

 ■the fact that New Zealand was "No Man's Land" and not 

 annexed to the Crown, and in a chosen localitjr as Cloudy- 

 Bay ships from Salem, Bristol, Le Havre, and Sydney lay 

 together for months taking their catch and often assisting 

 each other. V.D.L. being a Crown possession, as suich, 

 gave no facilities for ships or crews other than British, 

 except for re-fitting and re-victualling. Oil taken in 

 American and foreign ships paid a duty in England of 

 £26 12s. per tun Imperial, whereas the duty on British 

 Oil was Is. per tun Imperial. The following certificate 

 ha.d to accompany the Oil, and was required upon the 

 entry at the Custo^ms House, London. 



"V.D.L. This is to certify to all whom it may 

 "concern that the oath required by the Act of Geo. 

 "IV. C. 69, sec. 25, has been made before me (describe 

 "here the person administering the oath) by A.B., 

 "shipper of casks of Oil by the 



"British ship for London. That the same 



"was bona fide the produce of fish, of creatures living 

 "in the 93a actually caught and taken wholly by xfis 

 "Majesty's subjects, ca.rrying on the Fishery from here 

 "and aictually residing in this Colony. (H. T. Gazette, 

 "August 13th, 1825)." 

 The discrimination was even greater with Whalebone, 



on which foreign ships paid a duty of £95, compared to 



our ships £1, its value at this date being £160 -£190 per 



tun. 



By this year (1825) the "Derwent Whaling Club" had 



been formed, its members being : — - 



Jameg Kelly, Esq. 

 William Wilson, Esq. 

 W. Angus Bethune, Esq. 

 C. Ross Nairne, Esq. 



A prize of 8 dollars was given to the first person giving 

 information as to a whale being in the River. Profits 

 were divided into 7 shares, 4 to the Members, 1 to Chari- 

 table purposes, and 1 to the Native youth who displayed 

 the greatest expcrtness as a headsman. 



In the Gazette, August 13th, 1825, appears the follow- 

 ing, which seems to show that the quantity of the train 

 oil from V.D.L. did not compare too favourably with that 

 from other sources : — 



"The Southern Whale and Sea horse oil imported from 

 "V.D.L. is generallv iornid to be of dark colour and of less 



