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THE STORY OF WHALING IN FALSE BAY

Irene Toerien

Introduction

In 1803 Dutch merchants from the Batavian Republic were granted a 20-year whaling and

sealing licence for the whole of the Cape coast, which included all the bays, but only Table Bay
was used. Whaling in False Bay began three years later in 1806 and was carried on from many

spots along the bay shores for over 120 years.

Whaling Stations in False Bay

In 1806 Cloete paid one thousand Rix Dollars in order to start a whaling station in Seaforth. The

property was known as Kleintuin. After about 6 months Cloete was ordered to stop his operation
as the smell was affecting the naval gunnery which was nearby. In 1807 he then asked for a grant

of land at Kalk Bay and permission was given for temporary buildings to house the slaves. (Figs.

3.1 & 3.2.) There he was joined by Reitz, who was a naval officer, and William Anderson. As
they were not allowed to have tripots for rendering the blubber on the land, they towed their

vessel Truth around to Kalk Bay where she was moored close to land. The tripots were built into
brick walls on the deck of the vessel, and underneath the pot was a reservoir of water so that the

wood of the ship would not catch alight.

After a successful whale hunt the carcass would be left floating in the bay and during very high

seas it would wash up onto the land and get caught in the rocks. The carcass would then have to
be towed out again into the bay much further than the Truth. The Southern Right whales were the

most prized specimens and their average yield of 70 barrels of oil indicates their extremely large
size.

In 1811 Cloete sold the business to Stephen Twycross and a man called Leishing ran the whalery

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