South
Australian Projects
Point Collinson
There was a Hobart based whaling
station at Streaky Bay during the 1843 and probably several subsequent
seasons. The 262 ton brigantine Camilla (Captain
Gardiner) which had supplied the
whaling station for the 1843 and 1844 seasons was driven ashore in Streaky
Bay on 28 April 1844 and eventually became a total
loss
Site Description
In April 1997 a small group of staff,
honours students and volunteers from Flinders University conducted a predisturbance
survey of the archaeological material at Point Collinson (De Lieuen et
al 1997). Kostaglou and McCarthy have previously documented the existence
of a whaling station at Point Collinson (Kostoglou & McCarthy 1991:7-10).
The area has a scatter of material
including hoop iron, whale bone, ceramic, black glass bottle and clay pipe
fragments all of which date to approximately the 1840s. Only one habitation
site was found which was a pile of local calcarenite stone and bricks 2.5m
by 2 m interestingly with window glass - interestingly because the site
is located on the exposed front side of the dune system (in the wind etc)
yet is likely to be a habitation site because of the presence of the window
glass.
Artefacts
Copper alloy sheathing and sheathing
tacks were located at Point Collinson (see image below). The author has
previously noted this type of material at the whaling station site at Yanerbie
and Gibbs reports it on the Cheyne Beach site in Western Australia (Gibbs
1995:282 & 485 Plate C.1). The issue which arises from the presence
of copper alloy sheathing and tacks is the question of whether the whale
boats were drawn up onto the beach or were moored for long periods of time
in the water. The presence of sheathing suggests that mooring may have
been the preferred option and this has consequences in terms of the extent
and nature of underwater remains in the vicinity of whaling stations -
in the form of some form of permanent or semi-permanent mooring system
which may leave archaeological traces to the present day.
Copper or copper alloy sheathing
(Photo Mark Staniforth)
During field surveys in the general
area around the Point Collinson site clear evidence of Aboriginal usage
of black glass bottles was found at two sites - one seven hundred metres
north and another 3 km west of the site.This brings up the whole issue
of indigenous/white relations at what are clearly the sites of first contact
along this whole region of the South Australian coast. Unfortunately the
distance of the material from the site, the presence of Edward John Eyre
in the area some years before and the fact that that no excavations have
been conducted means that no unequivocal evidence of indigenous presence
actually at the whaling station site has been located.
Site conservation and management
issues
Parts of the whaling station site
at Point Collinson are under threat from the activities of four wheel drive
vehicles and their owners who appear to regularly visit the area. Furthermore
significant amounts of broken glass, ammunition and plastic were observed
during the survey work.
Discussion
The identification of the Point
Collinson site as a whaling station in operation during the 1840s on the
basis of the archaeological evidence is considered without doubt. However
the issue of whether the Point Collinson site is the one and only 'Streaky
Bay' whaling station is much more open to question. Kostaglou and McCarthy
(1991:11-12) have suggested that there may be another whaling station site
at Point de Mole (also within Streaky Bay) where staff of the State Heritage
Branch located 'the remains of
a stone hut' during a visit in 1996 (Arnott pers comm). The possibility
of a third whaling station at the mouth of Acraman Creek (also in Streaky
Bay) was suggested by Kostaglou and McCarthy but is considered by the author
to be highly unlikely (Kostaglou and McCarthy (1991:13).
One of the interesting points about
the historical descriptions of the Streaky Bay whaling station is the presence
of at least two women - Mrs Gardiner (wife of Captain Gardiner master of
the Camilla during 1844) and Mrs Luttrell (wife of Mr Luttrell who was
in charge of one of the whale boats during 1845) as well as Mrs Luttrell's
'little girl'.
1.Green transfer printed earthenware.
(Photo: Mark Staniforth)
2.Polychrome transfer printed earthenware
(Photos: Mark Staniforth)
More Point
Collinson Information
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