Eden Killer Whale Museum – Year 5 Excursion Report

Inquiry Question: What is the Eden Killer Whale Museum and what are the current and historical
industries of Twofold Bay?

Video upon entering the museum watch the ‘This Eden’ documentary in the theatre. The video can
also be viewed at:

This Eden Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6q5RNuOla5E

Using information from the video and information in the museum answer the following questions:

Where is the Eden Killer Whale Museum?

What is the Eden Killer Whale Museum? The museum contains displays, artefacts and information
from the Eden region’s history including that of whaling, maritime, fishing, forestry and gold mining.
(Learning area – History (ACHHS102, ACHHS121), (ACHHS101, ACHHS120), Geography (GE3-
1))

Why was the Museum established? The museum was established as a tribute to the relationship that
humans (Indigenous & Colonial) had established with the Orcas of Twofold Bay. The museum was
built to house the skeleton of the last orca ‘Old Tom’. (Learning area – History (ACHHK094),
(ACHHK095), Geography (GE3-2))

Name the types of whales that have been sighted in Twofold Bay? Humpback, Southern Right, Dwarf
Minki, Pilot, Sperm and Blue whale (Learning area – Geography (ACHGS034, ACHGS041)

Throughout the museum, you will see several displays that describe the relationship of humans with
the orcas of the bay, such as those shown below.

Describe how the orcas assisted the whalers and how the orcas benefited from this relationship.

The orcas assisted the whaling crews by herding baleen whales into the bay. They then
communicated with the whalers that a whale was in the bay by tailslapping or grabbing boat ropes.
They would help keep the whales herded so that the whalers could harpoon and bring the whales to
shore.

The benefit to the orcas was that they were rewarded by the whalers by being given parts of the catch
to eat themselves. (Learning area – History (ACHHS102, ACHHS121), (ACHHS103, ACHHS122),
(ACHHS101, ACHHS120))

From information in the museum and from the video, list these significant events and the year they
occurred on a timeline.

 Bass & Flinders discovered Twofold Bay - 1797

  Imlay Brothers settled at bay and on-shore whaling ramped up - 1852
 Eden school & police station established – 1857
 Boyd Tower was built – 1860
 Old Tom passed away– 1930
 Museum built – 1939

Learning area – History (ACHHS098, ACHHS117), (ACHHS102, ACHHS121), (ACHHS103,

ACHHS122), (ACHHS101, ACHHS120), (ACHHS105, ACHHS124), (ACHHS106, ACHHS125)

1775 1800 1825 1850 1875 1900 1925 1950

Find the cabinet with the whale products. List 3 artefacts in the cabinet that are
made from whales and describe what they were used for.

Learning area – History (ACHHS102, ACHHS121), (ACHHS103, ACHHS122),

(ACHHS101, ACHHS120), (HT3-2), (ACHHK093)

What other industries besides whaling have artefacts on display at the museum?
List 2 artefacts and what they were used for.

Pick and describe any 2 other artefacts from the displays. (Learning area - History - (ACHHS102,
ACHHS121), (ACHHS103, ACHHS122), (ACHHS101, ACHHS120), (ACHHS104, ACHHS123),
(ACHHS101, ACHHS120), (ACHHK094); Geography (ACHGS034, ACHGS041) (GE3-2, GE3-4),
(ACHGK026, ACHGK027), (ACHGK029))

What are the major industries of present-day Twofold Bay?

Examples from Fishing, maritime, tourism, forestry, and military. (Learning area – Geography (GE3-
1, GE3-2, GE3-4)