Albany Whaling Station

Liam and Danielle had told us about Albany Whaling Station. They said it was worth visiting, though Danielle warned, very sad.

By the time we’d arrived in Albany I’d forgotten about it entirely. I logged our ride in Strava and the day before we were set to leave I saw a comment from John, he recommended that we visit Albany Whaling Station, letting us know it’s hard at times but thought provoking and worth visiting.

I booked an extra night and a taxi to take us.

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Until we’d visited this historic site I knew nothing about whaling.

The Whaling Station is a fully intact, and restored, whale chasing ship, and whale processing factory. The museum tells you how whales were hunted for their oil which is in the whale’s blubber. Until 1978 Albany Whaling Station hunted whales and processed (cut up) whale carcass for oil. That looked like a rough job especially under the Australian sun.

Large fines were issued if whalers caught small whales to help the population, but as you’d expect, the numbers deteriorated. Whales become protected and with this – and a lesser demand for whale oil – whaling was eventually stopped in Western Australia.

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It was fascinating wandering around the ship and seeing what life was like on the boat. On the boat, a former-whaler was onboard and you could direct your questions to him, but as you can imagine, he was always busy.

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The boat had real footage of whaling in action which was a hard watch.

There were also theatres, some 3D, with short movies where you could learn more about the incredible whales, the ocean’s ecosystem, and most interesting to me, about sharks and how misunderstood they are and how vital they are to the oceans.