Author(s): Michael Stoddart

Transport/Maritime

In October, 1923 a Norwegian whale factory ship and five catchers called into Hobart to obtain fresh provisions. Twelve young Tasmanians signed on to go a-whaling in the freezing water of Antarctica's Ross Sea. Altogether 132 young Tasmanians joined Norwegian whaling expeditions over the eight following summers. All of them sought adventure, and none was disappointed. They called themselves 'Tassie's whale boys'. Their diaries tell of long arduous days among stench and filth and of the cruelty of industrial whaling; they tell of biting cold, the omnipresence of danger from ice and storms, dreadful food, and the minuscule pay at journey's end. They also tell of the special camaraderie engendered when spirited young men share such an adventure, and of their unbounded admiration for the solid, dependable Norwegians in whose trust they put their lives. The contrast of industrial whaling with the supremely beautiful Antarctic environment was not lost on any of the young men. Even the least articulate among them tried to express something of the grandeur of Antarctica as the iridescent sun shimmered over the summer horizon. This is their story.