Dieffenbach eyewitness, 1839
Dieffenbach reports six establishments across islands around Kāpiti and Mana, 23 boats, 466 tuns of oil, 30 tons of whalebone in 1839; with tonguers’ oil he estimates 500 imperial tuns. He attributes about half the oil to Evans’ station.
The historical record
Dieffenbach eyewitness, 1839 — Ernst Dieffenbach, Travels in New Zealand, vol I (1843), p.109 — Dieffenbach reports six establishments across islands around Kāpiti and Mana, 23 boats, 466 tuns of oil, 30 tons of whalebone in 1839; with tonguers’ oil he estimates 500 imperial tuns. He attributes about half the oil to Evans’ station.
A remarkable snapshot from 1839
Ernst Dieffenbach’s account, published in 1843, records six whaling establishments around the Kāpiti and Mana islands during 1839. Together they operated 23 boats and produced 466 tuns of black oil and 30 tons of whalebone. Including oil produced by tonguers, Dieffenbach estimated roughly 500 imperial tuns. His figures show the industrial scale of a coast that can now appear quiet and remote.
What the figures reveal
Dieffenbach attributed about half the oil to Evans’ establishment, showing how uneven production could be between stations. His count is a snapshot of an operating industry in one year, not a statement that only six whaling places ever existed. Later returns and archaeological surveys reveal additional locations and substantial change. Source: Dieffenbach, Travels in New Zealand (1843), vol. I, p.109; Prickett (2002), Kāpiti chapter.