HUNTING THE HUMPBACKS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 182, 31 July 1912, Page 8

HUNTING THE HUMPBACKS.

The fleet of the New Zealand Whaling Company, Ltd., comprising the factory-steamer Rakiura. the barque Prince George, and four steam whalers, is now Stationed at Whangaroa, and for the past fortnight trying-out operations have been in full swing. No. I—The harpoon on the left is this deadly instrument before it has been fired, and the second one shows how a fighting whale can twist up the solid steel weapon, which takes a couple of men to lift. No. 2 On the deck of the Rakiura: Cutting up the blubber into strips, after which it is sliced by machinery and fed into the steam trying-out pots on the right. No. The whaler Whangarei returning to the Rakiura with a whale, which she has- just captured) off the coast. The harpoon gun may be seen mounted in the bow. No. 4—Stripping the blubber off the whale's back. No. The whale gun ready to lire. The six-inch line attached to the harpoon is of the best Russian hemp, and can stand an enormous strain. About 50 fathoms, called the "forerunner," is coiled up on the platform in front, so that it will run out more readily when the gun is discharged. The pointed end of the harpoon contains the bomb loaded with two pounds of gunpowder, timed to explode in the whale's body. No. 6—At the "meat-end" of the Rakiura. After the blubber, which yields the best oil, is stripped, the carcase is sent aft. where the meat men complete the process of disintegration. Everything is boiled, axes, crosscut saws, and big steel wedges being used to reduce the ponderous bones to a size convenient for the try-pots.