"From the chief’s angle they were also obviously keen to have an operation like that that gained them access to technology, whale boats, and travel," he said.īut while the Wellers made a fortune from their whale oil for some time, it did not last beyond about 1848. " would have had trouble setting up here without sound relationships - first marriage was also to a chief’s daughter. Mr Ellison said those marriages were strategic from both sides. Many local Maori went whaling with the Europeans and held important positions on the boats, and many station leaders married into Ngai Tahu. The gap between 18 saw Maori and European coexist, Mr West said.
#Weatherman song sea shanty full#
The whalers hunted right whales - so called because they were the "right" whale to hunt, as they were so full of oil they would often float after being killed. He said, although it was not documented, local Maori likely accepted the Weller’s deal to obtain guns. The eldest brother, Joseph, then proposed to local Maori that Weller and Co, which was operating in Australia at that time, establish a shore whaling station at Otakou. They built a settlement at the rocky point, near Harington Point, now known as Wellers Rock, but it was burnt down shortly after. The Face of Nature: An Environmental History of the Otago Peninsula author Jonathan West said the history of the Weller Brothers whaling station began after the Weller family landed in Dunedin, at Te Umu Kuri on the eastern side of the harbour, in 1831. The couple were Mr Ellison’s great-grandparents. Nani was fed cockle juice until they could get a wet nurse for her, and she grew up to marry Raniera Ellison. Mr Ellison is descendant of Mr Weller and his second wife Nikuru Taiaroa, who died after giving birth to her first child, Nani. "It is quite amazing to see it come back into use." PHOTO: PETER MCINTOSHBeing familiar with the shanty, he was surprised to see it become so popular around the world all these years later. Otago Peninsula Museum and Historical Society president Warren Morris holds a lance used by whalers from the Weller Brothers whaling station in Otakou on the Otago Peninsula, likely used between 18. Ngai Tahu was heavily involved in whaling and many had worked for the Weller Brothers, he said. "This was the hub - I would expect it probably originated from here." Otakou kaumatua Edward Ellison, who is the great-great-grandson of the youngest Weller brother, Edward, and was named after him, believes Soon May the Wellerman Come would have originated from Otakou. The Weller brothers established whaling stations in the 1830s as far north as Akaroa on Banks Peninsula, and as far south as Stewart Island.īut there were three stations in the Otago Harbour and it was the second busiest port in the country at the time, behind the Bay of Islands. It is perhaps no coincidence that in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, while many around the world are stuck at home and isolated from friends and family, ancient shanties have made a comeback. Whalers often sang shanties, which are notoriously up-beat, to lift morale and keep spirits high. The whalers would look forward to the Wellermen bringing provisions including "sugar and tea and rum".Īnd they eventually do, as the last line concludes - "the Wellerman makes his regular call, to encourage the Captain, crew, and all." They would work the stations from about May to October and then many would go back to Sydney, which is referenced in the line "One day when the tonguin’ is done we’ll take our leave and go". It depicts the shore whalers, who would spot whales from lookouts including Taiaroa Head, and then put out the boats. While it is not known who originally wrote the shanty, the link to the Weller Brothers whaling station in the lyrics is clear. The unlikely popularity of sea shanties has been picked up by The New York Times and other media around the globe, and Mr Evans has since told his fans he landed a mega record deal with Polydor records. People across the globe have been posting their renditions and remixes of the shanty which refers to a Wellerman - the name given to men who worked on board ships owned by the Weller Brothers whaling station, which had its base at Otakou, on the Otago Peninsula. When Nathan Evans, a 26-year-old postman from Ardie, Scotland, posted his rendition of Soon May the Wellerman Come - a song that almost definitely originated during whaling from the Otago Harbour in the 1800s - to the video sharing app TikTok last month, little did he realiseit would receive 4.3 million views and help sea shanties become one of the first notable internet trends of 2021.
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