Australian Whaling : Voyages

Australian Whaling database lists the voyages made in the nineteenth century by the whaling vessels that were owned, registered or based in Australian ports. A few British whalers are also included, some due to the fact they were temporarily based in an Australian port and others because they were owned, or part-owned, by Australian residents although registered and based in Britain.

The list draws from published volumes of ship arrivals and departures for Sydney (to 1844) and Hobart (to 1850) compiled by John Cumpston, Ian Nicholson and Graham Broxham. It also draws on contemporary newspapers, surviving logbooks, port records as well as other published and manuscript sources. More information about the database, including a key to abbreviations, is available in the Database Description. You are encouraged to submit additions and corrections through the submission form.

Each entry gives the name of the vessel, its date of departure and return, the home port and the cargo (when known), plus information about the owner, master and vessel. The port means the vessel’s home port, although some vessels began or ended their voyages at other ports. A number follows the name of some vessels. This is to differentiate it from other vessels with the same name. When a voyage had more than one master, there will be additional row(s) in the table to display the information for these. To limit the display to a single row per voyage, check the box labelled “Limit to one row per voyage”.

Click on the red “Show/Hide columns” button to change the data columns that are displayed. Click on any row to select it and display voyage details below the main table. Subsets of the data may be printed or downloaded directly from the main table. Read The Data Viewer Interface for instructions.

Limit to one row per voyage