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[Former whaler] The conditions of the factory were, were very bad. You never had the modern
machinery that you've got today, and you can imagine, you know a whale weighed 50 tons, about an
average of 50, a 50 foot whale would weigh 50 tons, and that's an awful lot of
material to get rid of, in blood and guts and oil and that laying around it's very slippery
and very dirty work. You're working with ropes under strain, you know, pulling great weights
and all that sort of thing. You had these vast cookers that had to be emptied out and
you know the residue from them was boiling hot and all that sort of thing. One chap unfortunately
got caught in that and was killed. Ahh, but you know, it was a dangerous game, there's
no doubt about that. But very exciting, on the other hand.
[Narrator] The Marlborough Sounds are a drowned landscape, not because the sea-level is rising,
but because in this part of New Zealand, the earth's crust is sinking.
As you approach the Marlborough Sounds on the ferry from Wellington, you see a seemingly
unbroken line of cliffs rise from the sea. Then a narrow gap appears. Māori called this
Te Awaiti or 'the little river'. Today it is known as Tory Channel, after a vessel that
explored here in 1839. According to Māori oral traditions, the great
Polynesian navigator Kupe explored here about 800 years ago. Kupe was led here from his
Pacific Island in pursuit of a giant octopus, or wheke, belonging to an evil enemy -- Muturangi.
The octopus eventually took shelter near Cook Strait, where Kupe engaged it in a ferocious
battle. He eventually delivered a massive blow to the wheke's head. It thrashed about
before finally coming to rest in nearby Whekenui Bay.
The Brothers Islands, which lie about 10 kilometres north of Tory Channel, are known as Ngā Whatu-kaiponu,
which means the eyeball of the octopus. According to Māori tradition, all those who pass by
these rocks should avert their gaze. Many other places in the Marlborough Sounds
are related to Kupe's story. Te Umu Wheke is where part of Muturangi's octopus was believed
to have been cooked in an earth oven. Te Kupenga-a-Kupe, or Kupe's net, is named after the cliffs on
Cape Jackson that resemble large fishing nets. Cape Jackson, with its long and narrow rocky
form, is known as Te Taonui-a-Kupe, or Kupe's large spear. And Te Mimi-o-Kupe is believed
to be a spot where Kupe urinated. The English navigator Captain James Cook named
a second larger entrance to the area Queen Charlotte Sound. It is one of three major
waterways that make up the Marlborough Sounds. During his three voyages to New Zealand, Ship's
Cove in Queen Charlotte Sound became Cook's haven. He and his men rested here, repaired
their vessels, and gathered food and water. Cook also released goats, pigs and sheep at
Ship's Cove, as well as on nearby Arapawa Island. Descendants of the sheep, now a rare
breed, can still be found on the island today. During the early nineteenth century, whaling
stations were established in the Marlborough Sounds from which boats set out to hunt Southern
Right whales as they migrated through Cook Strait.
The first shore-based whaling station was set up in 1827 by Jacky Guard, an ex-convict.
His station was at Te Awaiti, in the Tory Channel. His young wife Betty was reputedly
the first woman of European descent to settle in the South Island.
In 1834, Jacky and Betty Guard and their two children were shipwrecked off the coast of
Taranaki and kidnapped by local Māori. Jacky was released but Betty Guard was held and
narrowly escaped death. She was finally rescued four months later.
Another prominent whaler was Worser Heberly, who also worked at Te Awaiti. Five generations
of the Heberley family hunted whales. The last two worked at the Perano whaling station
at the entrance to Tory Channel. Dolphins and seals, as well as a wide range
of fish, also inhabit the Marlborough Sounds. All three major sounds are lined with rocky
shores interspersed with small sandy beaches. This idyllic landscape attracts numerous anglers,
boaties, holidaymakers and tourists. Farming and forestry are also important in
the Sounds, and a number of isolated islands are nature reserves where native fauna, especially
rare bird species, are protected.