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Story: Whaling

Te Awaiti tryworks

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Te Awaiti tryworks

Whale blubber was boiled down into oil in large cast-iron trypots. At sea these were on the ship’s deck, but shore whalers built fires on the beach. These tryworks were in operation at Te Awaiti in Tory Channel, in the late 19th century.

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Canterbury Museum

Reference: EC173.165

Permission of Canterbury Museum, Rolleston Avenue, Christchurch, New Zealand must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Jock Phillips, Whaling – Pursuit and capture, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/6261/te-awaiti-tryworks (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 2 March 2009.