Albany 2026: Former Advertiser journalist Chris Pash reflects on reporting the end of whaling in Albany

The end of whaling in Albany was a pivotal moment for many of the city’s residents in 1978, and former Albany Advertiser reporter Chris Pash says it is a time in his career he keeps coming back to reflect on.

Pash signed on as a cadet reporter for the Albany Advertiser in 1975.

He left for Sydney at the end of 1978, having covered everything from Albany’s sesquicentenary to the closure of the Cheynes Beach Whaling Company — a decision that would mark the end of whaling in Australia.

Now the editor of AdNews, he returned to his time reporting on the death rattle of the whaling industry to write a book titled The Last Whale.

Published by Fremantle Press in 2008, the book chronicles his experiences in Albany, which among other things included going out on the open ocean with whaling crews, reporting on protests, and reflecting on the conflict decades later.

Pash remembers the feeling in town at the time as being evenly divided for and against whaling.

While the practice continued and many in the community relied on the jobs it created, the court of public opinion was swinging against it.

“The direct action in Albany, financed by a Frenchman then calling himself Jean-Paul Fortum-Gouin, divided the town,” Pash said.

“A poll by the Advertiser had 50/50 to end whaling.”

The 1977 protests were held under the Greenpeace banner and led by Canadian Bob Hunter, the first president of Greenpeace.

The protests in Albany were the first official Greenpeace actions undertaken outside North America.

“You could say that Greenpeace International was born on Middleton Beach as the activists launched a Zodiac inflatable to chase the whale ships out to sea,” he said.

“I found the idea of placing yourself between a whale and an explosive harpoon as completely crazy, but somehow special.

It forced me to think: this is important if people would go that far.

Pash said closely covering such a large event in the era before digital news proved tricky.

“Covering the protests was difficult for the Advertiser because we only published two days a week.

“The national and international media was covering it minute by minute.

“I felt my own work didn’t shape up to that but we tried to get fresh perspectives.

“The protest at the gate to the whaling station was amazing.

“Two opposing sides clashing with words and closely watched by police — it was amazing that there was no physical violence.”

Pash said by the time a judicial inquiry was established into whales and whaling, the “tide of public opinion had turned”.

“Malcolm Fraser, who was prime minister during the protests, told me later that whaling generated more letters to him than any other issue,” he said.

The closure of the Cheynes Beach Whaling Company in Albany was announced on July 31, 1978, the opening day of Fraser’s judicial inquiry, by the company’s executive director John Saleeba.

It came as a shock to many.

“I, and everyone else, was stunned,” Pash said.

“After Saleeba had made a statement, I chased him out of the inquiry . . . to double confirm what he said.

“At the Albany Advertiser, we quickly produced a special edition and had it on the street that afternoon.

“This was the first special edition since the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936.”

The company was barely financially viable by 1978 anyway, Pash pointed out.

“The market for sperm whale oil had, at least in part, been ruined by global anti-whaling protests, and the whaling station itself was a health and safety disaster,” he said.

“It would have taken a lot of money to bring it up to standard with new equipment.

“The whaling station closure was a deep blow to the local economy, with jobs gone and not to be replaced.

“Those who worked there had a double hit.

“Working on the whale chasers was a prestigious job, respected in the town, so those people also lost their position in society, on top of wages, which were good enough with bonuses to buy a new car.

“I should note that no whales were taken on the last day of whaling.

“The crews of the three whale chasers essentially went out on a fun trip, taking turns to fire the harpoon cannons, steer the ships and have a few drinks — alcohol was banned but everyone was going to lose their jobs anyway.”

While writing The Last Whale, Pash tracked down whalers and activists who had been part of the conflict in Albany.

“The whalers, mostly, said we shouldn’t have been whaling,” he said, reflecting on interviews he conducted while writing the book, decades after the controversial industry had come to a halt.

“The viewpoints of the whalers and the activists converged.

“I also got some of them together, with both sides apologising to the other.”