Sunday, 5 March 2017
At Sea — Tasman Sea … En Route to Brisbane
Stats @ Ship’s Time 9:40p (AEST) … UTC 11:40a (5 March)
Temp: 76.1F (24.5C)
Position: 27.41.25S / 153.44.03E
Doing what you like is freedom, liking what you do is happiness.
~ Anonymous ~
After two rainy and overcast days in Australia, we have a gorgeous day at sea. Sunshine, blue skies, a fume-free veranda. Even the internet started cooperating again today … after two very frustrating days of “satellite interference.”
I could write that we had a relaxing day at sea, went to a couple of lectures, and dined with friends at Toscana. But no, that would be boring unless you were on the ship with us. Instead, I am going to do a quickie ‘plog’ [photo log] of the murals we found on the perimeter wall of the Eden Killer Whale Museum, which I wrote about previously (post here). To speed up the writing of this post — time at sea is limited, don’tcha know — I am simply going to use the words from the information panels that accompanied each mural to describe them.
The seven ceramic murals were created between 1994-1997 by Eden’s own J. Alex S. McKenzie, recipient of the Order of Australia Medal. The panels tell the story of Twofold Bay from the time of the “dreaming of its original inhabitants, through the various stages of development by later arriving peoples.”
THE FIRST AUSTRALIANS …
Based on the colors of the Koori flag, the central design represents the tribal group with pathways to the dreamtime and to sacred sites. The upper half of the design depicts spirits from the dreaming, descending into the red earth of the lower half, as humans and as animals. On earth, they pass through life’s cycle, and return to the dreaming, a beautiful, natural, and comforting concept of creation. The family group represents people of the present time, the pathway to the future, as always, being largely in the hands of their children. They followed a dictum — “As it was done in the ‘dreamtime’, so it must be done today!”
KILLER WHALE LEGEND …
Killer whales, or orcas, being marked black and white like Corroboree dancers, came to be thought as being the former warriors of the tribe reborn from the dreaming to the sea. They called the great dolphins to them with food offerings and befriended them. When tribesmen later came to row whaleboats for the whalers, the orcas helped by driving baleen whales into the bay, from as far out as 12 miles, for their friends to kill. They were rewarded with the large tongues and lips. The skeleton of ‘Old Tom’, last leader of the killer whale pack, is a centerpiece display in this [Killer Whale] museum. The teeth on the left side are worn flat through his habit of seizing harpoon lines to slow whales down for the kill. With the death of ‘Old Tom’ in 1930, the legend and Twofold Bay whaling came to an end!
EARLY TRANSPORTATION …
For untold thousand of years, human feet and bark canoes were the only mode of transportation in the Aboriginal ‘Land of the Southern Cross.’ 1788 saw the influx of Europeans seeking new territory, bringing with their sailing vessels a very different way of life and of understanding. In 1798, Bass, in a whaleboat rowed by six naval volunteers, explored Twofold Bay, naming it and Snug Cove. The new settlers used bullock carts, horse drawn stage coaches and vehicles, using steam traction engines for heavy loads, developing diesel and petrol powered vehicles. Wooden hulled ships also gave way to iron hulled steamers.
THE HAZARDS OF WHALING …
Whaling in Twofold Bay was mainly carried out by shore-based whalers, the brief exception being Ben Boyd’s off-shore fleet, which processed catch while still at sea. Shore-based crews harpooned, lanced, killed, then towed the carcass back to their station to render down for oil and retrieve baleen, a bonelike substance used for stays in corsets, whip handles, combs, etc. While the lashing tails of whales accounted for many a whaleboat [sinking?], only one man was lost … on 28-7-1881, a Norwegian aged 22, his name being carved into a window ledge at Boyd’s Tower. Whaling is no longer practiced in Australia and today is replaced by ‘whale watching.’ Now, only the sighing wind and waves speak with the ancient tongue of a bygone era of tall ships, open whaleboats, and raw courage!
THE TIMBER GETTERS …
The sustainable growth Eucalypt forests of the Twofold Bay area provided ideal timber for railway sleepers, and squared timber for housing, making furniture, and much else. Timber was felled by the axe and cross-cut saw, split by maul and wedge, then dressed with a broad axe, much being exported. Wooden schooners and brigs of up to 100 tons were produced by May’s shipyards at the Kiah. The mechanical circular saw and band saw were developed and originally steam-driven, but later became powered by diesel, petrol, and electricity. Today, even the wood chips are used in the production of wall boards and paper, while soft wood forests are being grown to preserve our natural habitat.
MINING & FARMING …
The Imlay Brothers and Benjamin Boyd were responsible for opening up vast areas for sheep and cattle stations as well as farms around Twofold Bay, and further afield. The farms produced pigs, poultry, corn, wheat, and various other vegetable crops and fruit, which was widely grown and processed. The discovery of gold at Kiandra saw Eden, almost overnight, become the southeastern gateway to the ‘Land of Get-Rich-Quick.’ Sluice boxes rocked, panning dishes slopped, but Kiandra proved of short duration, many of its 15,000 miners almost freezing to death during their first winter on the highest and coldest of Australia’s gold fields. Traces of silver, copper and galena, or lead ore, have been found around the Twofold Bay area, and doubtless — ‘more gold in them that hills’ awaits!
THE FISHING INDUSTRY …
Early fishing vessels were small sailing and rowing boats using simple landlines and nets. Owing to lack of refrigeration, markets were limited to fresh or smoked fish from a small smokehouse at Quarantine Bay in the 1920s. Refrigeration, seine netting, spotter planes to locate fish, and development of a cannery on Lake Curalo put the industry on its feet. The cannery was relocated to Cattle Bay in the 1940s. After WWII, Eden had a fleet of 24 trawlers and 30 line boats, tuna being caught by poling and trolling. Purse seining was introduced in 1970, but otter board trawling is now widely used. The cannery has passed through many hands — Viz, Greens, Kraft, Heinz, and Greenseas. Products from drift nets are banned. Twofold Bay is popular for recreational fishing and as a base for sport fishing.
THE LOGO … WHAT IT MEANS … [bonus mural at the end]
This ceramic panel of the Eden Killer Whale Museum’s logo was the last in the series completed by Alex McKenzie. The museum’s management committee in August 1984 commissioned Ted Healy and Associates of Sydney to produce a design for a logo. The work was to celebrate the role of the institution in Eden’s history, but also to be easily recognized and associated with the museum. Representation is of a killer whale breaching through three waves, each representing the historically significant forestry, whaling, and fishing industries of the town. Many local organizations have adopted use of the design.
Hope you enjoyed this cavalcade of murals … I know I did.
© 2015-2017 — All rights reserved by Erin Erkun.
Beautiful murals, with interesting commentary explaining what each represents. Ceramic murals are especially interesting, I have only seen a few. I loved the Orca with the dancers best. Looks a bit like some Australian aboriginal fabric that I have. :)
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