Lyttelton Museum given whaling relics

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 32809, 8 January 1972, Page 14

Lyttelton Museum given whaling relics

Whaling relics found at] Ohahoa Bay, the southernmost bay on Banks Peninsula, last week-end, have been presented to the Lyttelton Historical Museum. The chairman of the museum (Mr B. N. Norris) said yesterday that the relics would complement a modest whaling exhibit at the museum. The relics, an old trypot and winches, were found by Mr R. Frew, and have been presented to the museum by Mr Frew and the owner of Oashore station, Mr T. D. Barwick. Mr Norris said he was very grateful for the gift, and commented that the trypot was a previously unknown one which until recently had been buried, and was not the known trypot referred to in “The Press” yesterday by a correspondent. The relics were all that re-

mained of a whaling station set up in the bay in 1839 by Philip Ryan, Mr Norris said. The station was set up for Weller Bros, of Sydney, and by 1840 it employed 24 men. It was in 1840 that Captain Stanley, of H.M.S. Britomart landed in the bay, and at this time the well-known William (Paddy) Woods was in charge of the station. Woods later ran the station jointly with Captain Joseph Price, of Ikarangi station. Eventually, the whaling station passed into the hands of Mr George Rhodes, and later local Maoris worked it, Mr Norris said. He also said that there were at least 24 variations of the spelling of the name of the bay. The Lyttelton Historical Museum is at present housed in the Lyttelton Community Centre.