OLD WHALER’S DEATH

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20954, 6 November 1939, Page 9

OLD WHALER’S DEATH

OPERATIONS IN NORTH (Special to Times) WHANGAREI, Sunday One of the former Bay of Islands shore whalers, Mr David Henry Kydd, of Rawhiti, died today at the Kawakawa Hospital. He was a naifbrother of the well-known whalers, the Cook brothers, members of a family associated with whaling in the Pacific and in New Zealand long before the formal settlement of the country-. When a youth, the late Mr Kydd was a member of the boat’s crew which harpooned the first whale to be caught in a net in New Zealand. It was a set net, held between rocks through which it was the custom of whales to pass, and the experiment was the forerunner of many similar catches, a heavy steel net being used. Mr Kydd acted throughout most of his association with his half-brothers as shore manager. One of the strongest men in the Bay of Islands, he was noted for his skill in dissecting whales. His strength was used to great advantage during some years as a bushman. When timber dams in the hills were being constructed, he used to earn extra pay carrying up heavy planks which normally required two men, but which in the difficult country were actually more easily handled by one if of sufficient strength. Subsequently Mr Kydd engaged in sheep farming at Whangamumu and later took up other land at Rawhiti. He leaves a widow and a large family.