History – A whale of a tale

This true event happened in December 1970, when three fishermen left sleepy Mangawhai to go fishing from their 22-foot launch near Sail Rock, off Mangawhai Heads. There was retired farmer Harold Browne, his 14-year-old grandson Lawrence Torckler and sheep farmer Cliff Bowmar.

After setting up and throwing out their lines, they relaxed while waiting for fish to bite, when they noticed a pod of whales swimming nearby. One of the humpbacks at 70 feet long, began circling their launch and managed to hook itself on to the anchor warp. Cliff quickly made a couple of turns around one of the boat’s bollards with the anchor rope and held on, but then with a lurch, the whale went churning away in spurts – putting on speed as it went. Cliff tried desperately to hold the rope and burned his hands doing so.

Harold estimated it travelled at speeds of up to 10 knots, on a choppy sea, before slowing down after about 15 minutes when it broke free, taking a lot of anchor, chain and rope with it.

When asked if they were at all afraid that the whale might have taken the boat and them down into the depths, they said they were prepared for that outcome and had a knife ready to cut the rope and set the launch free, if necessary.

The NZ Herald wrote that, “Apart from a whale of a tale of the ‘one that got away’, all that the three fishermen had to show for their trip away was one snapper”. I’m sure they would have lived on that experience for many a month. Actually, the story was retold for many a year.

Another Mangawhai whale story involved a whale that beached itself in the 1920s. Men for miles around came to look at the large creature as it lay quite dead and alone. The men decided they would cut it up and share it about the district. Some took meat for the dogs, others concentrated on getting flesh that they could get oil from. That oil was then used to moisturise harness, that was worn by their horses, and leather that was part of the furniture on the gigs and traps that they used for driving about in.

Unfortunately, along with the oil went a strong unpleasant smell that lasted for years. One of the daughters commented just how embarrassing it was to take a ride in one of their gigs or carts after the leather work had been given the ‘treatment’.