Just up the stairs, a lighthouse light and a whale boat being tossed by a whale's tale mark the beginning of this gallery.

Collection

Whale

The big tail

Credit: WA Museum

A growing awareness of the decline in whale numbers led to international bans on hunting several species in the 1970s. Australia stopped hunting whales in 1978. Western Australia’s last operational whaling station at Albany has become the site for a new tourist industry. Southern Rights and Humpback whales are still regular visitors to the places where they were once hunted.

This big whale tail was sculpted with a metal finish by William S Huntley from Infinity Design and was modelled on a humpback whale tail. Humpback whales are identified by distinctive tail features.

MAKE IT YOUR OWN

The story continues.

1 discoveries

THERE’S ALWAYS MORE TO DISCOVER

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01
Film

Explore the history of the whaling industry in WA

Whaling in WA