Whalers off Twofold Bay, New South Wales

Oswald Brierly came to Australia in 1842 and was appointed manager of a whaling station at Twofold Bay in New South Wales. He recorded the offshore activities in numerous drawings and watercolours showing the pursuit of whales for their blubber, which was primarily used to manufacture oil for lamp fuel. This watercolour, painted many years after the artist’s return to England, was described by Brierly in 'The Illustrated London News' as ‘a scene of the wildest commotion … every boat trying to keep clear of the whale as he circles desperately round … occasioning the danger of instant destruction to men and boats’.