PENGUIN OIL.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1838, 26 August 1913, Page 3

PENGUIN OIL.

A MACQUARIE ISLAND INDUSTRY. TOLD ON THE TUTANEKAI, (From Our Special Reporter.) Half Moon Bay (Stewart Is.), Auk. 16. Your correspondent had tlio opportunity of interviewing Mr. Joseph Ilatcli this evening in tho saloon of the Government btc-amcr Tutnnekai, whilst lying in Half Moon Bay, Stewart Island. The idea had been for tho 'l'utanekai to tranship the stores from tho brigautino Rachel Cohen, a le>w dozen fathoms away, bobbing about in a merry north-easterly sea. liut the tass of transhipping cargo in such a sea was out of tho question. In the courso ot a conversation, Mr. Hatch told .one of his troubles in connection with his oil industry down at the Macquaries. He hoped that the l'utanekai would be able to bring away a few hundred barrels of his oil from tho Macquaries. Ha had had very bad luck tho last two or three years, and had lost several thousand pounds and two boats—the Jessie Nicoll and Clyde— m the venture.

"I have got about 900 barrels of penguin and sea-elephant 1 oil, the value of which is A'lß per ton net," he said. "Sometimes we sell it partially refined for about per ton. As a rule wo clarify it with preparations of lead. Tho penguin oil is used mostly in the twine industry, and is as good, or at least the next best, to cod oil. The sea-eleplrant oil is j»ood for currying leather, and is a very fine oil for the purpose. It is also used in the making of soft-soap and ordinary soap, and various other purposes. Our sea-elephant season should be starting now, and extends over September, October, and Novembei. It is during that timo that tho elephants come ashore fat to ohaage their skins." Change their skins?

"Chango them exactly like a ' snake, and, having shed them, off tliey go shining like a new dollar. Yes, they come ashore twice a year,- once in April and May to breed, and once to shed their skins. We<lo not touoli them at what js called tho 'pupping season,' as they aro then two thin—no blubber on. them at all. But when they return, to shed their skins they aro plump, and for tho six weeks they remain ashore they live upon their own. fat, for on casting their skins they reduce themselves in size about one-half—that is another peculiar feature about the sea-elephant. Mr. Hatch relates interestingly how ho came to institute the penguin oil business. He bad heard' of the elephant-oil getters at Korguelen Islands making up thoil barrels with oil from penguins, so that when in IS9O he found he had a vessel at bis disposal in tho off-season, for seals (in which business ho was then engaged), and hearing of tho immense numbers of penguins at tho Maequaries, lie and a man named Giles, of CliTistchurch, resolved to exploit the business, and eventually sent down a digostor, which was erected at Lusitania Bay, where the biggest penguins were to be found. And ho had kept at it ever since. Some people who did not know what they were talking about, state that tho penguins aro being destroyed, buti there was never any appreciable difference in the number, and sinco he had been engaged in the industry, tho birds had established another enormous rookery.

It may be of interest to many to learn that tho Macquarie Islands are not now under tho jurisdiction of the N«v Zealand Government. They are, and for some timo past liavo been, attached to the State of Tasmania. Why tho Government of that State' was not called upon to act rather than New Zealand, after tho sensational wireless message received from the Mawson party ion tho islands, does not seem to have occurred'to anyone to ask. Mr. Ilatch was asked the question, and the only reason he could give was that tho Tasmanian Government had no vessel to send. If that rea&on stands, it may bo competent for the New Zealand Government to approach the Tasmanian Government to help defray the expenses of the Tntanekai's trip, which, in part, is being borne by Mr. Hatch, who, in turn, is partly recouped by what! ho receives from tho Mawson Committee as tenderer foT tho supplies to the Maquario Island party. Incidentally, tho names of that party are: Messrs. Armitoge, meteorologist (head of the party), Blake, geologic, Hamilton (son of Mr. A. Hamilton. Director of the Dominion Museum), biologist; Sandal, merchant; and Sawyer, wireless operator.