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Story: Whaling

Pouring whale oil

Image
Pouring whale oil

As a seasonal activity, Māori continued to hunt whales long after most shore-based whaling stations had closed, as this photograph from around 1900 testifies.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library

Reference: 1/2-068883; F

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Jock Phillips, Whaling – Māori and whaling, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/6274/pouring-whale-oil (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Jock Phillips, published 2 March 2009.