Whale Oil Position

Editorial Note

IT may be noted that, while in previous years a good deal of information was published relating to the ac tivities of British, Norwegian, German and Japanese whaling fleets in the Antarctic, this year very little has ap peared. The editor of this journal thought that he might' have missed these news paper announcements, and accordingly communicated with a leading Sydney business man who usually keeps tab over Antarctic enterprises; and he was told that that the latter gentleman also was without news of recent Antarctic whaling enterprises, if any.

We believe that a Japanese whaling fleet visited the Antarctic in 1940-41, and obtained a substantial quantity of whale oil; but there is no indication whatever of visits by any other fleet.

We know that there could be no activity by the Norwegians or Germans, owing to war conditions, and it is probable that every British ship, normally engaged in whaling, has been required for other purposes.

Therefore, it is a reasonably safe as sumption that, apart from the whale oil obtained by the Japanese, very little whale oil has entered the world’s oil markets from the 1940-41 season. Indi cations are that this will be the position also in the 1941-42 season.

Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Costello and their two daughters arrived in Australia from Rabaul early in June. Mr. Costello is attached to NG District Services staff.

Captain T. V. Hill, who served for over 35 years with the Union Steam Ship Company, retired at the end of May.

After some years as officer on various NZ vessels of the Union Co., he was ap pointed to the trans-Pacific cargo service and commanded the “Waikawa”, “Waite mata”, “Wairuna”, and “Hauraki”. From 1927 to 1935 he was master of the liner “Niagara”, taking over command of the “Aorangi” in 1936 and remaining in that post until he was relieved recently owing to illness.