"Pelorus Jack"

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21344, 19 November 1932, Page 4 (Supplement)

"Pelorus Jack"

Pelorus Jack, New Zealand's famous " unpaid pilot," belonged to the dolphin family, a group of fishes which embraces not only the grampus and porpoise, found around the British'lsles, but also many others abounding in tropical waters. l?rom earliest times the dolphin has been a favourite subject in mythology and art, possibly on account of the supposed affinity with man shown by its human-liko cries of distress which it utters_ when caught. Be that as it may, we find it time and again depicted in the past on old Greek and Roman pottery and mosaic pavements, while to-day. one may safely say it is always the fish one sees conventially treated in all kinds of ornamental art. Our hero belonged—as far as could be ascertained, for he was never caught and so examined closely—to the class known scientifically $s Grampus griseus, or Risso's dolphin, as it is more commonly called. He was about 15ft. long, of a general dark bluish colour, merging in places into purple and yellow, having a humped forehead, with a beak-like snout; his tail was fluked and set horizontally like that of a whale. His body was covered with criss-cross scratchings in all directions, the result probably of his many battles with the giant squid or cuttle fish, upon which he fed. So far as shape, colour and scratchings go, Jack no doubt shared these with the rest of his family, but what singled him out from them and gave him such notoriety was his peculiar habit of piloting steamers going through French Pass on their voyage from Nelson to Wellington, New Zealand. So uniform was Jack in this duty that when a steamer entered the straits the passengers would crowd to the bows to wait for his appearance, soon to be rewarded by seeing the giant fish suddenly shoot up out of the waves, and after a few preliminary manoeuvres, take up his position some 30ft. or 40ft. ahead, and settle down to his serious business of pilot. There he could be distinctly seen, keeping time with the vessel as she forged along, just beneath the surface of the water. As soon as all danger of the intricate narrow channel was passed, Jack would dart to one side, turn and watch the ship on her way, then disappear in the depths, to return and wait for another ship calling for his safe conduct. It was most noticeable that throughout the long period, _ over 35 years, Jack carried on this business, he only attended steamers, always giving sailing ships a wide-'berth, and in the case of steamships only attaching himself to those who used the channel regularly, for he seemed to know them all by sight, particularly old acquaintances, to whom he showed his recognition by gambolling around their bows* and leaping into the air with every appearance of joy, in the same manner that a dog shows when welcoming an old friend. Ilis preference for steamers was very strange, for it is a fact that whales will approach sailing

vessels with every confidence, whereas the vicinity of a steamer always frightens them away. Whether the rhythmic beat of the propellors attracted Jack, while repelling his nearly related cousin, the whale, we do not know, nor have we any information as to what caused this attraction ; but of one thing we are certain, the bait in his case was net food. Sharks and gulls will follow vessels for days in the expectancy of getting food, the result probably of some chance morsel thrown overboard, but this did not apply in the case of Pelorus Jack,- for it is said that he absolutely refused food whea on his self-imposed duty, through the Pass, Be the cause what it may, the fact remains that from the late seventies of the nineteenth century until the outbreak of the Great War, he _ could be always counted upon to put in his appearance whenever an old friend entered the Pass. Of course, Jack's long innings was not without risk or accident, for once, in 1905, venturing too near one of his favourites, the steamship Penguin, he was so severely cut by her bow that for several months he was absent from his beat. When the wound was healed, though ,the scar remained, he regained confidence, and returned to his old liuunts <ind duty, taking care to keep at a safe distance, _ and so run no moro risks. His chief peril, however, came not from his convoy, but, as one can easily surmise, from those foolish tourists who can never see anything without wishing to destroy it, trying to shoot him, fortunately without success. This led the New Zealand Government to take measures for his protection, as his constancy ill piloting vessels became such that the seamen aboard grew quite superstitious, and would certainly have had grave forebodings had he failed to put in an appearance- To ensure Jack a safe conduct, a Special Order in Council was enacted, protecting him and his family from molestation ' in the waters of Cook's Straits, or the bays, sounds, and estuaries thereof'; and not being sure how accurately to describe him, for, as we have already said, it was never definitely known to which particular class or group he actually belonged, the Order, certain, says ' the fish or mammal. !Die passing of this Order, like Jack s service, was altogether unique, for without doubt no other single animal in the world has ever had such an honour bestowed upon him. Pelorus Jack is now no more, for about the beginning of the Great War he disappeared. Whether he died a natural death, or simply retired from business, or whether, as a friend or writer who had known and seen Jack for many years said, 'it is more likely and generally Ijelieved that he was killed by on# of the many Scandinavian whalars who frequented the waters of Cook's Straits,' will never be known. At any rate, he was without his equal, his career had been long and illustrious, and his like will probably never be seen again. -J. A. SYMINGTON