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01/09/2004: "Whales - Sydney Harbour .......1967 UW picture."
On this day SEPTEMBER 1ST, the first (published/professional) underwater picture of whales, was made just outside the entrance to Sydney Harbour.
The mother and calf, Southern Right whale had swum into the Sydney Harbour during the night. My friends and I had coaxed and followed in a small speedboat away from busy ferry and boat traffic to the quieter open ocean where a series of underwater pictures were made.
Southern right whales still return to Sydney Harbour about this time of the year, but not every year.
Newspaper journalist Mike Perry had spotted the mother whale and her calf during his early morning swim at Balmoral Beach and phoned with an excited voice 'bring boat and underwater camera ASAP'.
The pictures made a front page story on the Fairfax newspaper, THE SUN the following day. The next day a follow-up Page One story (and repeat of the same picture) when it was discovered how rare the Southern Right species was. "On the brink of extinction" said the heading quoting a university lecturer.
Whales had been having a 'rough trot' and there were not many left, especially this species, named the 'right' whale because they floated when killed and were therefore easier to tow back to the factory.
Low visibility, a large subject, all a bit of a challenge at the time. The mother was huge and almost black so I focused on the lighter-coloured baby. This picture shows a section of the five meter-long calf riding on the mother's back, as they do just under the surface.
We did not recognise the species until (the late) Dr William Dawbin saw the pictures at his Sydney University department and almost fell off the chair.
It took a ban of whaling and another decade before people began swimming with all the other species elsewhere. The Southern Right has remained a prize subject. They are still rare. Unusual with a reversed-looking jaw-line.
Nov4 Footnote: 35mm underwater movie footage is believed to have been made by Bill Heffernan at Seal Rocks almost 50 years ago. This would be the very first underwater whale pictures made in Australia to our knowledge. What has become of this material is unknown. Bill Heffernan was a resident of The Entrance NSW. Has anyone out there any info we can add here, please?
