Killer whales of Eden, New South Wales

A killer whale swims alongside a whaleboat, with a smaller whale in between. Two men are standing, the harpooner in the bow and another manning the aft rudder, while four oarsmen are seated. The image itself is a discarded still frame from C.E.Wellings' now lost 1910 35mm movie film "Whalechase in Twofold Bay
The killer whale known as Old Tom swims alongside a whaleboat, flanking a whale calf. The boat is being towed by a harpooned whale (not visible here).

The killers of Eden or Twofold Bay killers[1] were a group of killer whales (Orcinus orca) known for their co-operation with human hunters of cetacean species. They were seen near the port of Eden in southeastern Australia between 1840 and 1930. A pod of killer whales, which included amongst its members a distinctive male called Old Tom, would assist whalers in hunting baleen whales.[2][3] The killer whales would find target whales, shepherd them into Twofold Bay or neighbouring regions of coast, and then often swim many kilometres away from the location of the hunt to alert the whalers at their cottage to their presence and often help to kill the whales.

  1. ^ "The king of the killers". The Sydney Morning Herald. 16 September 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference clode was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Toft, Klaus (Producer) (2007). Killers in Eden (DVD documentary). Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 12 August 2009. ISBN R-105732-9.