1839 whaling scale
Whale Song’s historical map records 23 boats and 466 tons of black oil in 1839 across six stations in the Kāpiti–Mana area.
The historical record
In 1839 the Kāpiti and Mana shore-whaling district operated six stations with 23 whaleboats. Naturalist Ernst Dieffenbach recorded their combined production as 466 tuns of black oil, excluding oil obtained by tonguers. These figures describe a working maritime industry spread across islands and mainland landing places, rather than one isolated whaling settlement.
The scale changed rapidly. Edward Jerningham Wakefield recorded seven boats operating from two stations in 1844. By 1847, the district still had two stations but only three boats, producing 29 tuns of oil. Archaeologist Nigel Prickett draws these figures together in his history of the Kāpiti stations.
The leading station also changed over time: Tokomapuna was the most productive in 1839; Long Point led in 1841; and Waiorua became the leading producer before the local industry declined. These shifts connect the story of Kāpiti whaling to the people and equipment moving between stations.
Historical source: Nigel Prickett, The Archaeology of New Zealand Shore Whaling (2002), Kāpiti chapter, pp. 83–97; drawing on Dieffenbach, Wakefield, contemporary station records and archaeological surveys.
What the figures can—and cannot—tell us
The 1839 return lists six stations, 23 boats and 466 tuns of black oil around Kāpiti, excluding the work of tonguers. Later returns record two stations and seven boats in 1844, and two stations and three boats producing 29 tuns of oil in 1847. Each figure describes a particular reporting year and scope; none is a cumulative total for the industry.
Source: Nigel Prickett, “The Archaeology of New Zealand Shore Whaling” (2002), pp. 83–97.
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