Whaling in New Zealand and in 1844 the last of the early onshore stations closed. Still, Captain Nye of the barque "Mount Wolleston" reported in 1879 that the northern whales averaged 10lbs of whale bone to each barrel of oil, and at that time were the most profitable whales caught. The following table presents the average yield of oil and bone to the northern and southern whale: A later shore station, Perano's of Tory Channel, Cook Strait caught 4200 whales (mainly humpback) between 1911 and 1964, when the last whale was caught in New Zealand waters. Since 1978, whales within New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic
Balclutha, New Zealand town is the concrete Balclutha Road Bridge across the river, which was built in 1935. The original 1868 wooden bridge was washed away on 14 October 1878. Rebuilt in 1881, it was later considered unsuitable for motor vehicles. The South Island Main Trunk Railway crosses the river some 800 metres downstream, near the junction where the Clutha River divides into the southern branch, known as the Koau (pied shag), and the northern the Matau (derived from Mata Au, the Maori name for the Clutha). Most of Balclutha township lies on 'the flat' land which lies within a wide loop in