The Wellerman

Context for the popular whalers' song / sea shanty*

Imagine a tiny outpost on an island 1000s of miles from your home, a few roughly built huts close to a beach, rowboats hauled up on the sand. It's winter and inside, sailors are gathered around a fire drinking rum, smoking their clay pipes, telling stories and singing. These men are whalers, accustomed to a tough life and dangerous, unpleasant work. They sing to cheer themselves in the grim conditions. Their life has few pleasures, but one high point is the appearance of the supply ship. When you sing "The Wellerman", you are one of these whalers.

The song has passed many times from person to person, each time learned by ear, resulting in several versions and a little confusion in the story. However, I'm able to, from my years of research into particularly offshore whaling, provide some background and meanings to terminology that should help the song make sense.

 - Who was the Wellerman?

In the late 18th and 19th centuries, whaling was a lucrative business. The Weller brothers, Edward, Joseph and George, were a 19th century Sydney based whaling company that operated bay whaling stations on the coast of New Zealand, at Otago Harbour. It's not clear whether "the Wellerman" refers to the company ship or the "man from Weller" who brought the supplies, but it doesn't matter, it amounts to the same thing. Historical records don't mention a ship owned by Wellers called the Wellerman, though they did have one called the Joseph Weller. Whatever its name, the supply ship was eagerly awaited by the isolated whale hunters.

The song begins:

There once was a ship that put to sea
The name of the ship was the Billy o' Tea

The story told in the song is about pelagic, or deep-sea whaling, which was conducted from a specially fitted-out ship. When a whale was sighted, whaleboats were lowered and went in pursuit.

She had not been two weeks from shore
When down on her a right whale bore
The captain called all hands and swore
He'd take that whale in tow

 The "right" whale simply meant the right one to catch because it yielded the most or the best kind of oil. Today, we still call one species the "Southern Right Whale". A whaling ship would have hoisted the whale onto the deck for processing - cutting up and rendering down the blubber, or fat layer of the beast. Presumably the ship would tow the whale to calmer waters first. Huge pots of boiling oil would be disastrous in rough seas.

Blow, my bully boys, blow

The first sighting of a whale was often the plume of spray emitted from the blowhole on top of its head. Lookouts really did call "There she blows!" when this was sighted. Whalers earned a percentage of the sale of the oil, known as a "lay", so they were very keen for the hunt and no doubt waited impatiently for the lookout's call. It would not be surprising if the last line of the Wellerman's chorus was originally "We'll take our lay and go".**

Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tea and rum 

One day, when the tonguin' is done

We'll take our leave and go

 

"Tonguing" refers to the process of cutting up the whale blubber into long sections called tongues. The tongues were cut into smaller pieces before boiling down in the try-pots. (Trying was an old term for "rendering" or melting down of ore.) Men who did this work were called "tonguers".

 

The chorus of the song is about bay whaling, the kind conducted by the Weller brothers at Otago Bay. It was seasonal work. Winter was whaling season in southern waters (Southern Australia, New Zealand and Mauritius). Around May the crew was carried to the location in one of the company's ships at the beginning of the season together with supplies of salt beef, flour, potatoes, pickles, tea, tobacco and rum as well as whaling supplies, tools and building materials. The whalers would be left at the station, the ship would depart and return at intervals to collect barrels of oil and leave further supplies. Shipping being subject to the vagaries of the weather and the captain's skill at navigation, whalers could never be quite sure when the company ship would return. 

Whalers preferred red meat, and would hunt what local fauna there was rather than eat whale. Some whaling stations had a few pigs or sheep and the crew would grow potatoes and other vegetables if the soil was suitable. But "tea, sugar and rum" could not be had locally, neither could tobacco, and when these supplies ran short the whalers would long for the return of the company ship. This lifestyle was more or less common to all off-shore whalers, so the song could have been sung by bay whalers anywhere, substituting the name of their employer, perhaps Hagen or Griffiths, for "Weller".

Before the boat had hit the water
The whale's tail came up and caught her
All hands to the side, harpooned and fought her
When she dived down below

Whaleboats were fitted for both rowing and sailing, about 6-8 men to a boat. On board were the headsman (boss), the boatsteerer (usually the harpoonist) and 4-6 "pulling hands" (oarsmen). When they neared the whale, one or more harpoons with "lines" (ropes) attached would be thrown and lodge in the whale. The whale would then pull the boats behind it as it tried to escape the harpoons, a dangerous time for the sailors as they could be pulled well out to sea and their boats overturned or broken up. The biggest danger was if the while dived into the deep sea, the whaleboat could be pulled under, or a whale thrashing its tail onto the boat could cause injury and destroy the boat. Many hours later the whale would get tired and the whalers could get closer for the kill. If the danger was too great, or the sailors tired before the whale did, the lines would be cut, the whale would be freed and the sailors would return disappointed.

The verses of "The Wellerman" tell of just such a whale hunt, albeit a rather far-fetched one. 

No line was cut, no whale was freed
The Captain's mind was not of greed
But he belonged to the whaleman's creed
She took the ship in tow.

 

What happens in this verse is not quite clear. Perhaps a harpoon has been thrown from the deck of the Billy o' Tea. There seems no other way the whale could take the ship in tow as well as four whaleboats. Nor is it clear what "the whaleman's creed" was. Maybe "hang on for dear life". Though if the captain was not motivated by greed, you would think he might show concern for the lives of his sailors. Perhaps confusion reigned. Anyway, the upshot was that the boats stayed attached to whale.

Now comes the punchline. Throughout the never-ending travails of the Billy o' Tea, the Wellerman still calls to lift their spirits with sugar, tea and rum.

As far as I've heard, the fight's still on

The line's not cut and the whale's not gone

The Wellerman makes his regular call

To encourage the Captain, crew, and all.

 

Here are the complete lyrics as they appear on folksong.org.nz

 

There was a ship that put to sea, 

The name of the ship was the Billy of Tea   

The winds blew up, her bow dipped down,  

O blow, my bully boys, blow. 

 

Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
One day, when the tonguin' is done
We'll take our leave and go.

 

She had not been two weeks from shore
When down on her a right whale bore
The captain called all hands and swore
He'd take that whale in tow

 

Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
One day, when the tonguin' is done
We'll take our leave and go

 

Before the boat had hit the water
The whale's tail came up and caught her
All hands to the side, harpooned and fought her
When she dived down below

 

Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
One day, when the tonguin' is done
We'll take our leave and go.

 

No line was cut, no whale was freed
The Captain's mind was not of greed
But he belonged to the whaleman's creed
She took the ship in tow.

 

Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
One day, when the tonguin' is done
We'll take our leave and go

 

For forty days, or even more
The line went slack, then tight once more
All boats were lost, there were only four
But still that whale did go

 

Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
One day, when the tonguin' is done
We'll take our leave and go

 

As far as I've heard, the fight's still on
The line's not cut and the whale's not gone
The Wellerman makes his regular call
To encourage the Captain, crew, and all

 

Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
One day, when the tonguin' is done
We'll take our leave and go

Soon may the Wellerman come
To bring us sugar and tea and rum
One day, when the tonguin' is done
We'll take our leave and go

 

*It's been said that The Wellerman is not strictly a sea shanty. The lively tune and beat make it a more suitable accompaniment for dancing than for hauling ropes.

** Some notes on this song say whalers employed by Wellers were paid in goods, such as clothing, rum and tobacco. It seems to me more likely, and it certainly happened elsewhere, that these items were deducted from their pay and the remainder paid in cash. I can't think such arduous and unpleasant work would be done only for such tobacco and rum as was consumed in a six month season and it's known that many ex-whalers were able to set themselves up in farms or businesses.

A Shore-based Whaling Station

Some useful notes & quotes from Susan Lawrence, author and Professor of Archaeology at La Trobe University who has studied the sites of colonial whaling stations (See References)

Essentials for a shore-based whaling station:

• A sheltered Harbour, safe anchorage for ships leaving supplies and picking up barrels of oil.(WFM)Close to migrating whales. " ... the station nearest the headland was preferred as it was closest to the whaling grounds." If whales came from the South, then the south headland was preferred. (WFM)
• A lookout (tall tree, headland, island etc. Whales came from a known direction, eg South in Spencer's Gulf Remains of eg stone shelters can sometimes be seen at lookout points.(WFM) 
• Tryworks. Trypots or tuns with some kind of support and fire underneath, maybe a stone slab platform for workers to stand on. Had to be away from water because water spoiled the oil. (WFM)
• Cool, damp storage for barrels of oil. (WFM)
• Huts and workshops positioned upwind of the smelly, smokey tryworks, but on level ground (WFM)
• Fresh water and building materials, both stone and timber, though any of these could be brought in by ship if necessary. (WFM)
• A gently sloping beach for hauling up carcasses and blubber; a natural rock platform was convenient for cutting in.(WFM)

My Notes on Fishery Beach: 

Location: Whales would have come from the South, so most likely lookout would have been on the Southern headland. Anchorage presumably okay. The beach is very stony, with rock outcrops extending into the sea and the drop to the water's edge is steep in 2019. Might have been different in early-mid nineteenth century.
Level sites: Land above the beach consists of terraces. Clark's hut located on one of these. Likely also workers' accomodation, though much has been obliterated by the building of a silver smelting works on the same site.
Building materials: There may have been timber, but it's gone now. Plenty of large slabs of slate available on the shore and creek bed and small, rounded stones for paths also on the shore.
Location of tryworks unknown, but probably far end of the beach

Fishery Beach. Slate outcrops provided
materials for floors and chimneys. Kangaroo Island
can be clearly seen on the horizon.
Image copyright Anne Tichborne 2019

Fishery Beach looking North, showing flat terraces
useful for buildings. There was even a vegetable garden.
The location of the manager's hut is the area of reeds
in the middle ground, near the creek and sheltered by
a southern headland. Image copyright Anne Tichborne 2019

My Notes on Encounter Bay:

Locations were: near the Bluff (Rosetta Head) with the lookout stationed on summit of the Bluff - a flag signal was used. On Granite Island / Nulcoowarra with lookout at summit of the island. 
 The famous sketch of Christmas Day 1850 shows a very straight row of slab huts with substantial if roughly built (stone, not brick?) chimneys, and a couple of slab sheds. The roofing material looks same as the slab walls, though one or two may have been thatched. The prevailing wind is from the south. No sight of tryworks, but a structure  on a slope of the Bluff could be shear-legs, though I understand this was on a floating platform at least some of the years whales were hunted at Encounter Bay.
The anchorage was not so very safe - three ships incl Solway were lost in a gale. Ships eventually learned to anchor in the lee of Granite Island.

References: 

• The Archaeology of Whaling in Southern Australia and New Zealand Susan Lawrence, editor 1998 (AWS)
• Whalers and Free Men. Life on Tasmania's Colonial Whaling Stations by Susan Lawrence Australian Scholarly Publishing Pty Ltd, Melbourne 2006 (WFM)

Tom Clark - Off Shore Whaler

I now have all the low-down on Thomas Clark, whaler and farmer, of Encounter Bay and Kangaroo Island.

See also on this Blog: Mr &Mrs Clark of Cape Jervis  | Encounter Bay Whaling Station

Thomas (Tom) Clark aka Clarke
 Born about 1810 in England, United Kingdom
Brother of James Clark(?) according to two sources.
Father of Robert Clark and Eliza Jane (Clark) Chapman. Their mother was Mary Louisa Stone nee Connor. She had three other children from different fathers
Tom Clark died at Antechamber Bay, Kangaroo Island.

Thomas Clark, an Englishman (10), was present in the British Colony of South Australia in its early years. A biography of his son Robert Clark says that Tom arrived in Australia in 1835,(6) which was before the establishment of the colony of South Australia, and that he came to South Australia from Tasmania (then Van Diemen's Land) to join the whale fishery at Encounter Bay. Tom Clark's ship of arrival is not mentioned in his Obituary (2). He had a brother named James Clark, also a whaler at Encounter Bay.(1) A Thomas Clark, Whaler, left Launceston on the whaling vessel Thistle for Port Fairy on 20th October 1836. (12)
A Thomas Clark departed Hobart for Adelaide on the Will Watch on 19th March 1844 (4)
He is mentioned in newspapers as a headsman, and then chief headsman at the Encounter Bay whaling fishery from 1844. (3) He distinguished himself for his strength and the number of whales he caught. (1) His appointment as headsman implies some years of prior experience as a mariner and whaler. He was thus employed until at least 1851. Off-shore whaling was seasonal and he may have had other employment elsewhere in the off-season.(3)
In 1850 Tom Clark partnered with Barnett to hunt whales near Cape Jervis, in a spot now known as Fishery Beach. Whaling commenced in May 1850. Tom was manager and lived there with "Mrs Clark" in a slab hut, remains of which have been excavated by archaeologists. They kept ducks, fowls and pigs, probably for their own use and to supplement the diet of the whalers.(13,14,15)
There were twelve whalers, but few whales. Only one was caught in the entire season. (15) Tom had plenty of time to build three rowboats in sheds on site. At the end of the season, the fishery was sold to Bennett's (15) Tom is recorded as having been in Bennett's employ in 1851 (3) ; this could have been at either Fishery Beach or Encounter Bay, though his son Robert is said to have been born at "Port Victor" (Encounter Bay) (6).
The woman posing as "Mrs Clark" was Mrs Mary Louisa Stone (5) Tom and Mary's son Robert Clark was born in 1851.(6). One source says that a second son, William, was born in 1855. (7) In 1858 they had a daughter, Eliza Jane Clark. (8) By 1861 Mary Louisa had left Tom and was married to Frank Buckley. (9)
In 1853 Tom Clark was one of the locals who assisted survivors of the shipwrecked steamer Osmanli at D'Estrees Bay, Kangaroo Island. He offered to take charge of the salvage operation. (10)
 
Tom spent his later years on Kangaroo Island where his son Robert became a successful farmer and grazier.
He passed away in 1892, aged 82 at Antechamber Bay, Kangaroo Island. (11)

 AN OLD KANGAROO ISLANDER.-A corre
spondent writes from Hog Bay:-"Mr. T.
Clarke died at his son's (Mr. R. Clarke) resi
dence at Antechamber Bay on the 19th, after
a, short illness, aged eighty-two. Thus has
passed away the once celebrated Tom Clarke,
the noted headsman of bygone times, when
whaling was an important industry in the
colony. Tom Clarke was stationed at En
counter Bay for many seasons, and his reported
feats of great strength are well known in that
locality. He had resided on the island for
many years, and was highly respected. A
goodly number of neighbours attended his
funeral to show their respect for him."

Sources

1. OLD RESIDENT TELLS STORIES OF WHALING DAYS
2. AN OLD KANGAROO ISLANDER
3. FamilyHistorySA.info: CLARK Thomas, headsman (1846 Hagen, 1847 Wilde, 1848, 1849 Barnett, 1851 Bennett) Names in brackets are his employers as a whaler. Source: South Australian Government Gazettes 1844-51
4. SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE. (1844, March 22). The Courier (Hobart, Tas. : 1840 - 1859), p. 2
5. What we know of Tom Clark's and Mary Stone's relationship is from a newspaper report of a divorce suit brought by Mrs Stone's husband, Joseph.[ http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article49826783 Supreme Court - Stone vs Stone and Clark
6. 6. Cyclopedia of South Australia 1909, pp.1021-1022
7. Bibliographical Index of South Australia, May 1986 There's no formal registration of this birth. Not known where the BISA got it from. In 1880, a William Clark, son of Thomas Clark, married Ellen Harris in Adelaide (BDM 124/835) but no certainty of connection.
8. Mary called herself Louisa Stone: CLARKE Thomas, Louisa STONE, parents of child born 1858-03-08 named Eliza Jane at Encounter Bay (data courtesy Family History S.A.)
9. Hearing re Marriage of Mary Ann Stone and Ezra Moore: "LAW AND CRIMINAL COURTS." South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) 30 November 1861: 3. Web. 13 May 2018 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50080691.
10. Letter from Thomas Clarke to South Australian Free Press, , 4th March 1854
11. Death Thomas CLARKE died 19 May 1892, aged 82yrs, born approx 1810, at An techamber Bay which was also his residence at time of death. Ref: District: Yankalilla Book/Page: 202/409 per South Australian Genealogy and Heraldry Society.
12. Tasmanian Names Index - Departures
13. New Whale Fishery at Cape Jervis
14. Shipping - Cleared Out 
15. The Whaling Season SKETCHES OF THE PRESENT STATE OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA. No. VIII.-CAPE JERVIS

 Notes

• Tom Clarke was immortalised in Simpson Newland's book "Paving the Way".
• In 1835 the Schooner Adelaide brought whaler Thomas Harris to Kangaroo Island. Could it also have brought Tom Clark?
• In 1836 a Thomas Clark left Launceston on the whaling ship "Thistle" for Port Fairy. https://linctas.ent.sirsidynix.net.au/client/en_AU/names/search/results?qu=NI_NAME%3DThomas&qu=NI_NAME%3DClark&qf=NI_DEPARTURE_PORT%09Departure+port%09Launceston%09Launceston
• in 1850 the Barnett whaling company, owned by Joseph Barnett, became a partnership, Joseph Barnett & Thomas Clark (Source: http://www.familyhistorysa.org/sahistory/whaling.html Whaling in South Australia). Tom Clarke worked for Barnett in 1849, and Bennett in 1851 but no employer is recorded for 1850. Most whaling ceased at Encounter Bay about this time.

Encounter Bay Whaling Station

Some very scrappy notes. If you have any questions or comments, please leave me a message in the comments box below.

Ramindjerri name for Encounter Bay: Karraunda

Encounter Bay Whaling Station 1850 showing "The Bluff" (Rosetta Head)
at right, Granite and Wright Island, whaleboats drawn up on the beach,
whalebone on the beach and a row of whaler's huts.

Whaling begins 1837.
Two stations: Capt Blenkinsop's at first on the mainland, then on Granite Island.
S.A. Company managed by Samuel Stephens (of all people!) at Rosetta Head.

"To resolve the conflicts Parliament passed an Act for the Regulation and Protection of the Whale Fisheries in September 1839. The whale belonged to the party whose harpoon first struck the whale. If the line broke and a second harpoon was struck, the whale became joint property. The Act also specified the provisions to be supplied to the men - 12 lbs of beef or 9 lbs of pork, 12 lbs of bread or flour, 4 ozs tea and 2 lb of sugar per week. The lack of vegetables was compensated by the owners supplying two gallons of tea or half a pint of strong rum per day. Some reports indicate that the men had little to do between whale chases but "eat, drink and sleep, play cards, sing and make a noise". (FamilyHistorySA Maureen M. Leadbetter)

Whalers

PULLING HAND - Oarsman
HEADSMAN - In charge of each boat, takes over steering once the whale is harpooned
BOATSTEERER usually also the harpoonist
TONGUER  Too horrible to think about

According to Mr Sweetman's memories: (Sweetman was there from around 1853)

Bob Cleeve, 

Billy Honeyman, HUNNIMEN / HONEYMAN/Honeymoon William, boatsteerer (1844 Hagen), boatsteerer (1845 Wilde)

Jim Clark

Tom Clark, CLARK Thomas, headsman (1846 Hagen, 1847 Wilde, 1848, 1849 Barnett, 1851 Bennett)

Jack Jones, JONES John, headsman (1844 Hagen, 1845, 1846, 1847 Wilde, 1848 Barnett)

Jack Taylor, TAYLOR Henry, boatsteerer (1844 Wilde), tonguer (1845 Hagen), pulling hand (1849 Barnett), boatsteerer (1850 Barnett)

Jim Long, LONG James, headsman (1844 Hagen, 1846 Wilde, 1847 Hagen, 1848, 1849 Barnett, 1850 Bennett), chief headsman (1845 Hagen, 1851 Bennett)

Alex Ewen, EWEN Alexander, pulling hand (1844, 1845 Hagen), boatsteerer (1847, 1848 Hagen, 1850, 1851 Bennett)

Bill Harris, HARRIS John, boatsteerer (1848, 1849 Barnett, 1850 Bennett)

Jack Gangel, 

Peter Morgan, 

Jack Parsons,   ??PARSONS Frederick, pulling hand (1845 Hagen)

 Jack McCarthy, 

Jim McDonald, 

Dan Budie,

Frank Buckley, 

George Bennett, BENNETT George, boatsteerer (1844 Hagen, 1845 Wilde)

Jack Foster, (real name John Harris)

Rube Earl, 

Tom Smith, SMITH Thomas, pulling hand (1846 Hagen)

Tom Atrill, 

Joshua Paterson (cooper)

Jack Hyde (boat builder) ??HYDE John, pulling hand (1844 Hagen)

Jack Beddow BEDDOW John, pulling hand (1844 Wilde)

Montgomery (steersman) MONTGOMERY William, boatsteerer (1844 Wilde)

Foster (headsman - drowned) 

Henry Lush

(John Barbank/Burbank) rescued after whaling/fishing boat capsized on the reef at Wright's island after 1850
("New Zealand Tom" ) Not sure if these two are whalers

The following are whalers whose names appeared in Government Gazettes 1844-1851. Source: FamilyHistorySA.info
BENNETT Samuel, pulling hand (1844 Hagen)
BENNETT Thomas, pulling hand (1844 Hagen)

BUCK William, pulling hand (1844 Haynes, 1845 Hagen, 1851 Bennett)

BUDD William, boatsteerer (1845 Wilde)

CARTER John, pulling hand (1845 Hagen)

CLARK John, headsman (1844, 1845, 1846, 1847 Wilde, 1851 Bennett), pulling hand (1849 Barnett), tonguer (1851 Bennett)
CLARK Joseph, pulling hand (1845 Hagen)
CLARKE Isaac, boatsteerer (1844 Hagen)
CLARKE John, cook (1847 Hagen)

FAGAN James, pulling hand (1846 Hagen)
GANDEW Edward, pulling hand (1846 Hagen)

HARRISON George, pulling hand (1846 Hagen)
HARRISON John, headsman (1844 Haynes), cook (1847 Hagen)

HYDE John, pulling hand (1844 Hagen)
HYDE Morris, pulling hand (1848 Hagen)
HYDE Phillip, boatbuilder (1844 Wilde, 1846 Hagen), carpenter (1845, 1847 Hagen)

JONES Edward, pulling hand (1844, 1845, 1847 Hagen, 1848 Barnett, 1850 Bennett), tonguer (1847 Hagen)
JONES Richard, pulling hand (1846 Hagen)
JONES Thomas, pulling hand (1844 Wilde)
JONES William, pulling hand (1850 Barnett)

 MORGAN William, pulling hand (1845 Hagen)

SMITH Charles, pulling hand (1844 Haynes)
SMITH Grieve, headsman (1844 Hagen)
SMITH John, pulling hand (1844, 1845, 1847, 1848 Hagen, 1845 Wilde), boatsteerer (1846 Hagen)
SMITH Joshua, pulling hand (1845 Wilde)
SMITH Nathan, pulling hand & carpenter (1845 Hagen)
SMITH Thomas, pulling hand (1846 Hagen)
SMITH William, pulling hand (1845, 1846 Hagen)

Owners
S.A. Company
John Hart & Jacob Hagen
James Wilde & John Howard
J.T. Haynes
Barnett
Bennett

Bennett

James Frederick Bennett, Samuel Elkington Boord, William Johnstone & S R Clarke (1850)
James Frederick Bennett, Samuel Elkington Boord & William Johnstone (1851)

Barnett

Joseph Barnett (1848-49)
Joseph Barnett & Thomas Clark (1850) at Rapid Bay

Hagen

John Hart & Jacob Hagen (1844)
Jacob Hagen, John Baker & John Hart (1845-46)
John Baker, Jacob Hagen & John Hart (1847-48)

Haynes

J T Haynes (1844)

Wilde

James Wilde & John Howard (1844-45)
James Wilde, John Howard & William Johnstone (1846)
James Wilde & William Johnstone (1847)

The Town

Was surveyed quite early by Light. Title deeds are dated as early as 1837.

Reading list
Colwell Max, 1969. Whaling Around Australia
Cumpston J S, 1974. Kangaroo Island, 1800-1836
Gibb R M, 1969. A History of South Australia
Kostoglou Parry & McCarthy Justin, 1991. Whaling and Sealing Sites in South Australia
Nash Michael, 2003. The Bay Whales. Tasmania's Shore-Based Whaling Industry
Parsons Ronald, 1986. Southern Passages. A Maritime History of South Australia
Sexton R T, 1990. Shipping Arrivals and Departures. South Australia 1627-1850
Flinders University. The Archaeology of Whaling in Southern Australia and New Zealand (web page now unavailable)

Sources

https://www.familyhistorysa.org/sahistory/whaling.html
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/58840224 (Bob Sweetman)

Whaling vessels:

Sarah Elizabeth - possibly Henty
Isabella  - Hart
Gem
Nereus
Thistle - Griffiths

Mr and Mrs Clark of Cape Jervis

In 1850 Tom Clark partnered with Barnett to hunt whales at Fishery Beach, just south of Cape Jervis. Whaling commenced in May 1850. Tom was manager and lived there with "Mrs Clark" in a slab hut, remains of which have been excavated by archaeologists. They kept ducks, fowls and pigs, probably for their own use and to supplement the diet of the whalers.
There were twelve whalers, but few whales. Only one was caught in the entire season. Tom had plenty of time to build three rowboats in sheds on site.

At the end of the season, the fishery was sold to Bennett's. Tom is recorded as having been in Bennett's employ in 1851. Was that at Fishery beach? Son Robert was born in 1851 "at Port Victor".

These dates confirm that Mary Louisa was Robert Clark's mother as she was definitely co-habiting with Tom Clark from May 1850, at Rapid Bay.

SAILED Wed May 1st
The cutter Jane and Emma, 20 tons, Shaw,

master, for Rapid Bay and Cape Jervis. Passengers

Mr and Mrs Clark, Mr and Mrs Chandler, and twelve

whalers. Cargo-Sundries lor the fishery. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/159531719

3rd May 1850: CLEARED OUT.

May 1 -The cutter Jane and Emma, 15 tons, Shaw, for Cape Jervis. With stores for Barnett &

Clark's Fishery. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/71626181


Mr Barnett's party started on the 1st inst., in the fine
cutter Jane and Emma (which he has bought) for the
fishery at Cape Jervis; and that nothing might be
wanting to give them a good start, he hired the steamer
to tow the vessel out to the lightship ; everything being
in his usual liberal style, gay flags flaunting in the
breeze, and champagne in abundance to enliven the
party of ladies and gentlemen who accompanied him in
the steamer to see the party off. When we say that
the famous headsman, Tom Clark, continues as
manager, we doubt not they will have that success
which Mr Barnett's liberality and enterprise so well
deserve.Adelaide Observer 4 May 1850
(Note it wasn't the party on board the Jane and Emma that was treated to champagne).
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/159531734

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.

Sept. 23 1850.—The cutter, Jane and Emma, 35 tons,

Clark, master, from Cape Jervis.

 THE WHALING SEASON.-The whaling season this

year has not been very successful up to the present

time. Mr Barnett's new fishery at Cape Jervis, have

only caught one humpback, but this is partly owing to

the situation of the fishery, the tide running through

the straits so fast, that it is very difficult to come up to

a fish passing through. Messrs Bennett and Co's,

party, at the old spot, Encounter Bay, have been rather

fortunate, having taken, we believe, nine whales and

two humpbacks. 14 Sep 1850, Adelaide Observer

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/159532769

26th Sept ARRIVED The cutter Jane and Emma, 25 tons, Shaw,
master, from Cape Jervis, with a party of whalers.
 https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/195940822

Excerpts from SKETCHES OF THE PRESENT STATE OF

SOUTH AUSTRALIA.

No. VIII.-CAPE JERVIS (dated 1st Dec, presumably 1850) 

From Mr. Ransford's a level road runs parallel

with the coast, and for about a mile or two we were

able even to " bowl along " with comfort till we

came in sight of Mr. Barnett's fishery, which, with

its scattered sheds and buildings near the shore, we

saw from a rise which terminated in a slope where

the hut of Mr. Clark, the manager, was placed.

Mrs. Clark received us with much attention and

civility, in a slab hut, the picture of neatness and

order, though the premises were surrounded by

ducks, fowls, pigs, turkeys, four caged parroquets, a

tame magpie, a pet cat, and an infant cockatoo.

Mr. Clark was at Kangaroo Island. ...

...We looked at the oil-boiling coppers and

apparatus, and threading a maze of empty tuns

visited a boat-shed where were three new handsome

strong boats, built by Mr. Clark; the largest, a

.six-oared boat, valued at £25.

We were so fully in view of Kangaroo Island,

and could so plainly see the vegetation there, as to

make it appear singularly near, as it sometimes

does. The distance is 12 miles from the fishery,

and the passage is made in a few hours. Mrs.

Clark said that her husband and herself could

manage the boat without assistance on these occasions,
Mrs. Clark, as she technically phrased it,"hauling the sheet."
The whaling season here had

been unproductive, as we before affirmed, owing

chiefly, Mrs. Clark said, to the men employed not

being " up to their work," but it is also said that

the failure was more attributable to a spirituous

influence. Mrs. Clark had attempted a little garden

north of the house, a little above it, which she said

her husband laughed at, but we told her that it

might prove no joke. She was ambitious of grow

ing melons, which were thriving, and coveted

cucumbers, but had no seed.

... We have since

learnt that this fishery has been sold by Mr. Barnett

to Messrs. Boord, Johnson, and Bennett.
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/165043305
Adelaide Observer 3 May 1851

 POLICE COURT-PORT ADELAIDE.

Friday, May 10th. 1850

Charles Morris, charged with deserting the Cape Jervis

whale fishery, to which he had articled himself for five

months, after receiving £3 wages on the 5th inst., pleaded

guilty, and said be had to cook for all of them at the fishery,

and there was nothing to do it with, so he left, as the men

complained of him. He intended to return the £3.

Mr Barnett explained that the things were not yet landed,

the man knew when he engaged that the fishery was not

established, and they must make a shift for a time.

Committed for a month.

Adelaide Observer 11th May 1850

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/159532168