Cutting the blubber off a whale on Mohaka Beach

Whaling on Mohaka Beach

This small watercolour painting is a rare depiction of whaling activities in New Zealand. It was painted by Alfred Cooper, an early European settler in Mohaka in the Hawkes Bay, probably sometime around 1860.

On 10 April 1869, Alfred John Cooper, his friend John Lavin, and Lavin’s wife and children, were killed when a war party led by Rongowhakaata leader Te Kooti attacked Mohaka.

Years before, Lavin had sent his family in England a number of small watercolours by Cooper, recording the Mohaka area and aspects of their life. On the back of the paintings, Lavin wrote notes for his family. On the back of this painting he wrote: 'This whale made about 12 tons of oil.'

The Alexander Turnbull Library’s Drawings, Paintings & Prints collection holds 14 watercolour paintings by Cooper. You can see more of Alfred Cooper’s paintings on our digital collection Timeframes, by searching using the term 'cooper, alfred'.

See this image in our collections – Timeframes website

Permission of the National Library of New Zealand Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa must be obtained before any reuse of this image.