As part of our Roadtrip through the Sapphire and South Coasts we stopped at a few sites along the “Killer Whale Trail“. The (in my opinion) most somber is Davidson Whaling Station located on the shores of Twofold Bay.
While the site retains natural beauty and has stunning views out onto Twofold Bay there is also a “feeling” of the darker history.
The Historic Site features the cottage used by the Davidson family and the remnants of the whale processing facilities. There’s good factual information added through signage around the well maintained site.
The cottages are maintained by the National Parks & Wildlife Service NSW in a largely original condition with displays added to illustrate the history.
A highlight for me was the grounds which feature an array of plantings made by the Davidsons including considerable volumes of Garlic which was to mask the smell of the whale processing.
The above photo is the beach area where whales were processed, the cauldrons for rendering down the blubber were located on the rocky outcrop on the right side of this photo.
Today there’s a quiet tranquility to the location.
The station is a reasonable distance off the nearest “main” road, with a 4km dirt road for access. It’s readily passable in any car although if you have limited ground clearance you may want to be a little more careful. On the other-hand rental vehicles excel at this sort of off-tar escapades!
While there’s no escaping the sad history of whaling, and many of the displays on the site can be somewhat affronting it’s also a time-capsule of early settlement and well worth visiting when you’re in the region.
