Image
Whalers were attracted to New Zealand by the numerous sperm whales to the north and east of North Cape. This engraving by Joel Samuel Polack shows whaling in the area in 1838, when there were many American whalers. Whale products were exported before New Zealand was a colony or had a government.
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Reference: A-032-026
by Joel Samuel Polack
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.