The Last of the Sail Whalers : Whaling off Southern New Zealand and Tasmania : Captain Bill McKillop 1865-1938

When he died in 1938, Captain William McKillop was recognised as the last local master mariner to have captained a square-rigged whaleship. His career had spanned many phases, including sealing, whaling, fishing and coastal trading in New Zealand and Tasmania. McKillop's lively reminisces formed the basis for two books by the renowned Australian folklorist, Will Lawson: Harpoons Ahoy! and Bill the Whaler. Before those books were written, however, McKillop had dictated his memoirs to a colleague of the Tasmanian whaling enthusiast Dr Willam Crowther. This book bfrings to life the last decades of whaling and seagoing trading voyages under sail in New Zealand and Australia.

Featured in the 11 November 2019 New Zealand newsletter.
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