Tangalooma

History

During WWII a naval base and jetty were built at Tangalooma. Tangalooma whaling station operated from 1952 until 1962, during which period it harvested and processed 6,277 humpback whales. Whaling took place when the humpback whales migrated along the coast in winter, in an eight- to ten-week season during which the processing factory ran 24 hours a day. The operation was at first very successful, employing a crew of about 140 people, but, in its final years, a collapse in catch levels made it uneconomic to continue. When the station began whaling, the population of eastern Australian humpbacks was estimated at 10,000; when it ended, the number of whales had been reduced to an estimated 500. In 1963 the hunting of humpbacks was banned in Australian waters; since then the population has been recovering. Following the closure of the station, it was sold for resort development.

Most-observed species

• Great Crested Tern

  Thalasseus bergii (M.H.K.Lichtenstein, 1823) · Aves
  1,464
• Pied Cormorant

  Phalacrocorax varius (Gmelin, 1789) · Aves
  1,127
• Torresian Crow

  Corvus orru Bonaparte, 1850 · Aves
  596
• Silver Gull

  Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae (Stephens, 1826) · Aves
  528
• Masked Lapwing

  Vanellus miles (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  527
• Welcome Swallow

  Hirundo neoxena Gould, 1842 · Aves
  503
• Australasian Gannet

  Morus serrator (G.R.Gray, 1843) · Aves
  499
• Brown Honeyeater

  Lichmera indistincta (Vigors & Horsfield, 1827) · Aves
  498