WHALE STRANDED.

Shannon News, 12 August 1927, Page 3

WHALE STRANDED.

INJURED BY SWORDFISH. AUCKLAND, August 4. A whale measuring about 65 feet in length became stranded on the beach in the Tauranga Harbour near the Mt. Maunganui railway wharf last, night. The attention of Mr Viekers, opposite whose house the whale ran aground, was arrested by the sound of struggling and puffing by the whale in its distress. Sallying forth with a stick and a light, "Air Viekers saw the whale struggling in shallow water. It was blowing periodically and lashing its huge tail. With the rising of the tide it was expected that the monster would free itself, but evidently in its struggles it had embedded itself deeply in the sand. Daylight disclosed wounds on the carcase of the whale, evidently the result of an attack by a swordfish. It is thought that the whale made its way into the harbour to escape the swordfish. If this story is correct, it would indicate that the swordfish do not entirely leave these shores during the winter.