The "Empire Unitas" at Bunabhainneadar alongside its biggest catch of 1952: a blue whale
Picture from SMT Magazine, May 1952

The Bunabhainneadar whaling station was set up in Harris in 1904 and was used intermittently up to the 1950s. It was originally built by a Norwegian company and was operated under the direction of Capt. Karl Herlofsen. The station was closed during the years of the 1st World War but re-opened after the War.

Throughout this early phase, a fleet of catcher vessels worked out of the station. These were 90 foot boats capable of speeds of up to 12 knots, and manned by Norwegians. Most of the whales were caught around the islands of St Kilda, Rockall and the Flannan Isles. The whaling season lasted throughout the summer and autumn as a range of species passed through the fishing areas during those months.

The Common Rorqual whale was the one most commonly caught. Up to 100 of these were caught some years, and they could measure up to 70 feet. But the Blue Whale -- the largest species of all -- was even more valuable and up to 50 of these were caught during some of the seasons. Other species harvested in smaller numbers included the Sperm Whale, Humpback Whale, Biscayan Whale, Bottle-nosed whale and the Sei Whale.

The whales were harpooned by the catchers and each carcase was inflated to keep it afloat. Once a number had been killed they were brought back to the shore station Bunabheinneadar.

Each carcase was dragged up the slipway where the shore team got to work. The first step was to take off the whale's blubber and baleen. Then the flesh cut off with large flensing knives and taken by a series of buckets to the boiling house. Once boiled, the meat was taken by another set of buckets to be dried at the top of the tall brick chimney. The final process was to have the dried meat ground into powder in a mill. Most of this product was sent back to Norway and it is currently most interesting to note that much of this whale-meat product was used as cattle feed. It was also sold as guano.

Enter the ubiquitous Lord Leverhulme. Having had his fingers burnt in Lewis Leverhulme concentrated on Harris especially on its southern port of Obbe (re-named as Leverburgh in English because 'the locals wanted it' - so said the man himself, anyway).

As part of his Harris developments Leverburgh bought the Bunabheinneadar whaling station off the Norwegian company in 1922. His biographer, Nigel Nicolson, says that he did so, "... partly to provide employment, but also because he suspected that the Norwegians were deliberately contaminating the herring-ground with whale offal to drive the herring to Norway." (P 219) Leverhulme purchased three whale catchers from the Norwegians and began catching whales off the west of Harris but the venture was a complete failure. Leverhulme never lacked for top-of-the-head ideas of development. This time his idea was to extract oil from the whale-meat for use at Port Sunlight and to make the meat into sausages for export to Africa. He wrote, "As whale-meat is rather tough, it will improve the possibilities of mastication... The native is not an epicure, so long as it is good wholesome meat." (Which tells more than enough of our man's perception of indigenous people!)

He had 6,000 tons of whale-meat treated experimentally but it was not a success. He wrote in typical style, "The meat was hard and tough, and the watery juice was very unpleasant. I do not think it would really pay to can it even for Africans." (Our italics). As usual, he pesisted. The last building erected by him before his death was a smoking factory in Leverburgh geared to produce smoked whale-meat which he intended to export to the Congo. In May 1925 there was a long blast on work hooter in Leverburgh. One workman recalled, "I knew that it could only mean the death of one of two people: His Majesty or Lord Leverhulme.' "The Old Soap Man (Bodach an t-Siabainn)" was dead. Work at the Bunabhainneadar continued for a while after his death before being finally closed down.

The whaling station did not function again until 1950 when it was taken over and repaired by yet another Norwegian, Capt. Jespersen. This final phase of operation lasted only for two years, and it provided employment for 50 local men and women.

One whale-catcher was used -- the Empire Unitas V. During the first year 33 whales were caught, and 25 in the second year. These were caught in the waters around St Kilda. The largest whale caught was an 85-foot Blue Whale which yielded 137 barrels of oil and 100 barrels of guano. Some whale-meat was also sent to Glasgow.

But within two years the work stopped once again. The fifty local men and women who had learned to flence and to cut up the whales and who operated the boilers and separators were once again unemployed.

But this time the whaling station was closed for good.

Typical of our time, the Bunabhainneadar Whaling Station is about to be turned into a Heritage theme site where the whaling processes of the station's past will be interpreted for visitors. With workbooks for schoolchildren. So the station looks as it may continue to provide interest and employment for people - maybe even local people.

There is another local 'monument' to whaling; this time in Bragar in Lewis. This is the Whalebone Arch erected by Murdo Morrison at his home; it is the jawbone of a whale which was washed ashore on the west coast of Lewis in 1931 -- with a Japanese harpoon still embedded in it.

The harpoon hangs as part of the Whalebone monument.

Further reading:

Nicolson, Nigel (1960) Lord of the Isles:
Lord Leverhulme in the Hebrides. Weidenfeld & Nicolson.