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The Weller brothers, Englishmen of
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, Australia, and
Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
, New Zealand, were the founders of a
whaling station Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry a ...
on
Otago Harbour Otago Harbour is the natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland. They join at its southwest end, from the harbour mouth. It ...
and New Zealand's most substantial merchant traders in the 1830s.


Immigration

The brothers, Joseph Brooks (1802–1835), George (1805–1875) and Edward (1814–1893), founded their establishment at Otago Heads in 1831, the first enduring European settlement in what is now the City of
Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
. Members of a wealthy land-owning family from
Folkestone, Kent Folkestone ( ) is a port town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour and shipping port for most of the 19th and 20t ...
, they moved serially to Australia, partly to alleviate Joseph Brooks Weller's
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
. Joseph Brooks left England on 20 October 1823.Weller Family Tree: Joseph Brooks
/ref> He arrived in
Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...
on 4 February 1824 and then went to
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. After 18 months he returned to England, and left there for good on 1 January 1827 accompanied by Edward. In the meantime George had already left England and arrived in Australia in March 1826,Weller Family Tree: George
/ref> and had bought the ''Albion''. By 1830 Joseph Brooks, Edward, George and his new wife, Elizabeth (formerly Barwise), their parents, Joseph (1766–1857) and Mary (née Brooks) (b.1779), and two sisters, Fanny (1812–1896) and Ann (1822–1887), were all in Sydney.


Development of trading

Joseph Brooks Weller interested himself in
flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...
and
timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...
trading at the Hokianga. In 1831 he called at William Cook's shipbuilding settlement at
Stewart Island/Rakiura Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land ar ...
to commission a vessel before visiting Otago in the ''Sir George Murray'', reaching an agreement with Tahatu and claiming territory for
William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...
. He returned in the ''Lucy Ann'' with goods and gear to establish a whaling station, (it is believed with Edward) in November. George and his wife came too, or arrived soon after. The Wellers continued to trade in flax and spars, maintaining operations at the Hokianga even as they developed Otago. At that time and throughout the decade they were the only merchants regularly trading from one end of New Zealand to the other. A fire soon destroyed the Otago station, but it was rebuilt. Edward was kidnapped by
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
in the far north and ransomed. Whale products started flowing from Otago in 1833 where Joseph Brooks based himself and European women went to settle. Relations with Maori were often tense, the establishment being ransacked and the Wellers keeping Māori hostages in Sydney, reverberations from earlier conflicts (
Sealers' War The Sealers' War (1810–1821) in southern New Zealand (then part of the Colony of New South Wales), also known as the "War of the Shirt", was a series of often indiscriminate attacks and reprisals between Māori and European sealers. Initially ...
). Joseph Brooks died at Otago in 1835, and his brother Edward shipped his remains to Sydney in a
puncheon Puncheon may refer to: * Puncheon (barrel), a container for wine and/or spirits * Puncheon or plank road, a road built with split logs or heavy slab timbers with one face smoothed, also used for flooring or other construction * Puncheon rum, a typ ...
of rum. At 21 Edward became the resident manager while George maintained the Sydney end of the business. At this time there were 80 Europeans at Otago which had become a trading,
transshipment Transshipment, trans-shipment or transhipment is the shipment of goods or containers to an intermediate destination, then to another destination. One possible reason for transshipment is to change the means of transport during the journey (e.g. ...
and ship service centre as well as a whaling station. A measles epidemic greatly reduced the Māori population.


Further developments

New fisheries were established inside the harbour and up and down the coast. The Wellers' ships sailed beyond Australasia and they tested the tax regime preventing direct shipment of whale products to Britain. Edward made strategic marriages to a daughter of Tahatu, Paparu, and after her death to Taiaroa’s daughter, Nikuru. There were daughters, Fanny and Nani, by each alliance. By the end of the 1830s, exports of whale products ( southern right or humpback whales) were at a peak, the station taking about 300 southern right whales on the first season, as was the resident European population. Anticipating British annexation the Wellers started buying land and settling it. But a sudden decline in whales saw Edward's exit at the end of 1840 followed by the firm’s bankruptcy. He and George lived out their lives in New South Wales. The management of Otakou whaling operations was taken over in 1840 by Charles Schultze (1818–1879), who had married the Weller brothers' sister Ann Weller, and an employee, Octavius Harwood (1816–1900). The settlement of Otago reached a nadir in 1842 but ultimately revived, remaining the centre of port operations in the area until after the establishment of
Port Chalmers Port Chalmers is a town serving as the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast of Dunedin's city centre. History Early Māori settlement The origi ...
and Dunedin. As "
Otakou Otakou ( mi, Ōtākou ) is a settlement within the boundaries of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located 25 kilometres from the city centre at the eastern end of Otago Peninsula, close to the entrance of Otago Harbour. Though a small f ...
" it is now a suburb within the boundaries of Dunedin. Weller's Rock, also known as Te Umu Kuri, near
Harington Point The settlement of Harington Point (often incorrectly spelt ''Harrington Point'') lies within the boundaries of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located at the Otago Heads, at the northeastern end of Otago Peninsula, close to the entrance ...
on the Otago Peninsula (at ), is named after the Weller brothers. In January 2020 Te Runanga o Otakou, the
Dunedin City Council The Dunedin City Council ( mi, Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Ōtepoti) is the local government authority for Dunedin in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Dunedin. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Dunedin is Jules ...
and the
Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...
joined forces in a project to protect the site from degradation.


Folklore

"
Wellerman "Soon May the Wellerman Come", also known as "Wellerman" or "The Wellerman", is a sea ballad from New Zealand first documented in the 1960s. The song refers to the "wellermen", pointing to supply ships owned by the Weller brothers, who were amon ...
" is a
sea shanty A sea shanty, chantey, or chanty () is a genre of traditional Folk music, folk song that was once commonly sung as a work song to accompany rhythmical labor aboard large Merchant vessel, merchant Sailing ship, sailing vessels. The term ''shanty ...
that refers to the wellermen, the supply ships owned by the trading company set up by the Weller Brothers. The song was originally collected around 1966 by the New Zealand-based music teacher and
folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...
compiler, Neil Colquhoun. The song has been performed and remixed, with over ten recorded renditions between 1967 and 2005, including by British band
The Longest Johns The Longest Johns are a British folk musical group from Bristol, England, consisting of Andy Yates, Dave Robinson, Jonathan "JD" Darley, and Robbie Sattin. They are known for performing folk music and sea shanties in the English tradition, and ...
in 2018 and Scottish singer Nathan Evans in 2020.


Notes


References

*
''The Weller Brothers
' in the 1966 ''Encyclopaedia of New Zealand'' *Entwisle, P. in Griffiths G. (ed) (1974) ''The Advance Guard Series 3 Edward Weller'' Dunedin, NZ: Otago Daily Times. *Entwisle, P. (1998) ''Behold the Moon the European Occupation of the Dunedin District 1770–1848'' Dunedin, NZ: Port Daniel Press. . *{{cite thesis , type=BA(Hons) , last= King , first= Alexandra , title= The Weller's whaling station : the social and economic formation of an Otakou community, 1817-1850 , publisher= University of Otago , place= Dunedin , year= 2010 , url= http://hdl.handle.net/10523/5533 People from Otago Peninsula Settlers of Otago History of Dunedin New Zealand people in whaling 1831 establishments in New Zealand Australian people in whaling Australian ship owners Ellison family