Skip to main content

Story: Whaling

Whangamumu whalers

Whangamumu whalers

Whalers were a cosmopolitan lot who worked hard and played hard. This 1901 photograph of whalers at the Cook brothers’ station at Whangamumu, Northland, shows the tough male community. Many of them were Māori.

Using this item

Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira

Reference: C2293

Permission of the Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Jock Phillips, Whaling – Pursuit and capture, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/6264/whangamumu-whalers (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 2 March 2009.

Comments

Elizabeth Wilson
06 November 2011
Referring to the photograph of the whalers at Whangamumu whaling station taken in 1901. My grandfather is one of these men. 1st on your left sitting down crosslegged. His name was Wiremu Kingi Tirore Kareko or Wi Titore for short.