The Last Whale
The true story of the battle between the English-speaking world’s last whaling fleet and a group then considered ratbag activists. The direct action in 1977 against the Cheynes Beach Whaling Company in Albany, Western Australia, was Greenpeace’s first in Australia.
The story is told from both sides in the conflict: Australia’s last whalers and a group of Australian and international protesters who took to sea in open boats to use their bodies as shields against harpoons.
Among the protesters was Canadian Bob Hunter, a co-founder of Greenpeace, Canadian Bobbi Hunter, mysterious Frenchman Jean-Paul Fortom Gouin, Americans Aline Charney and Pat Farrington and Australians Jonny Lewis and Tom Barber.
Order the book from Fremantle Press
Links to The Last Whale blog
Chasing whaling ships from sea level
What Year did Whaling end in Australia?
‘Given that whaling seems to be an eternally controversial issue it is a huge compliment to ex-journalist Chris Pash that he has managed to find an objective middle path in this engrossing story of the first Greenpeace campaign in Australia …’ — Sydney Morning Herald
‘… [Pash] captures the shift in the public mood that made whaling morally unacceptable … Carrying the emotional freight of the story are intriguing characters on both sides, such as the Frenchman known as the Phantom…’ — The Age
‘Chris Pash portrays the campaign—the first direct Greenpeace action in Australia—as a tale of high drama in the Southern Ocean, with protesters risking their lives in little rubber dinghies as they attempt to obstruct the whaling vessels.’ — Bookseller+Publisher
‘A timely reminder of how far we’ve come since the days of routine slaughter, of how hard conservationists fought to bring it to an end, and how vigilant we must be in making sure that the dark days of whaling are behind us forever.’ — Tim Winton
‘… an important contribution to Australian history and to the protection of whales. From a historical perspective, it chronicles the people and events which created Greenpeace in Australia and it also seeks to understand the minds and thinking of those who hunted whales in Australia …’ — Steve Shallhorn, CEO Greenpeace Australia Pacific
Publication Year: 2008
Publisher: Fremantle Press
ISBN139781921361326
Pages: 240
Chris Pash 
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