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Pelorus Jack

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Pelorus Jack
Pelorus Jack in 1909
SpeciesRisso's dolphin
Years active1888–1912
Known forEscorting ships through the Marlborough Sounds
AppearanceWhite colour with grey lines or shadings; round, white head
Marlborough Sounds is located in New Zealand
Marlborough Sounds
Marlborough Sounds
Location of the Marlborough Sounds

Pelorus Jack (/pəˈlɔːrəs/;[1] fl. 1888 – April 1912) was a Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus) who was famous for accompanying ships as they passed through New Zealand's Marlborough Sounds, on the route between Wellington and Nelson. He would meet Nelson-bound ships at the entrance to Pelorus Sound (hence his name) and would continue with them as far as French Pass, a notoriously dangerous channel lying between D'Urville Island and the South Island. With Wellington-bound ships he would make the same journey in reverse.[2][3]

Sightings of Pelorus Jack were reported over a 24-year period, from 1888 until his disappearance in 1912. His popularity was such that the New Zealand Government issued an Order in Council providing for his protection in 1904, prompted by an incident in which someone shot at him from a passing ship.[4]

Appearance

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The dolphin was approximately four metres (13 ft) long and was white in colour, with grey lines or shadings and a round, white head.[5] Although its sex was never determined, it was identified from photographs as a Risso's dolphin, Grampus griseus. This is an uncommon species in New Zealand waters, only 12 having been reported.[6][7]

Pelorus Jack. Photographed by A. Pitt.

History

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Pelorus Jack was first seen around 1888 when he appeared in front of the schooner Brindle as she approached French Pass. When members of the crew saw the dolphin bobbing up and down in front of the ship, they wanted to kill him, but the captain's wife talked them out of it. To their amazement, the dolphin then proceeded to guide the ship through the narrow channel. For years thereafter, he safely guided almost every ship that came by. With rocks and strong currents, the area is dangerous to ships, but no shipwrecks occurred when Jack was present.[8]

Many sailors and travellers saw Pelorus Jack, and he was mentioned in local newspapers and depicted in postcards.

Jack was last seen in April 1912. There were various rumours connected to his disappearance, including fears that foreign whalers might have harpooned him. However, research suggests that Pelorus Jack was an old animal; his head was white and his body pale, both indications of age, so it is likely that he died of natural causes.[6]

Since 1989, the Interislander ferry service has used Pelorus Jack as a symbol, incorporating him into the livery of its ships.[9]

A statue of Pelorus Jack was unveiled at French Pass in 2016.[10]

Shooting incident

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In 1904, someone aboard the SS Penguin tried to shoot Pelorus Jack with a rifle. Despite the attempt on his life, Pelorus Jack continued to help ships. According to folklore, however, he no longer helped the Penguin, which was shipwrecked in Cook Strait in 1909.[4][11][12]

Protection

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Following the shooting incident, a law was proposed to protect Pelorus Jack. He became protected by Order in Council under the Sea Fisheries Act on 26 September 1904. Pelorus Jack remained protected by that law until his disappearance in 1912.[4][7][13] It is believed that he was the first individual sea creature protected by law in any country.[14][15]

Cultural references

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  • In 1945, when Bob Lowry founded his new press, Pelorus Press, in Auckland, his printer's device was a dolphin, referencing 16th-century Venetian printer Aldus Manutius, and he named the press after Pelorus Jack. "It was a happy thought to maintain the old dolphin tradition. What more inevitable then ... than Pelorus Jack of the Sounds?"[16]
  • Kipa Hemi Whiro, a kaumātua of Ngāti Kuia is reported in 1913 as being "very positive in his belief" that Pelorus Jack was "the self-same fish of ancient days", Kaikai-a-waro, a sea-god or taniwha who had guided his ancestor Matua-hautere across Cook Strait from the North Island to settle in the South Island many generations earlier.[7]
  • "Pelorus Jack" is a Scottish country dance,[17] named in honour of the dolphin. This dance features a set of alternating tandem half-reels (or heys) where two people act as one but swap who leads at the reel ends. It is also known as a Dolphin Reel.[18]
  • Arthur Ransome mentions Pelorus Jack as accompanying ships and receiving protection in his 1932 novel Peter Duck. However, the character of Peter Duck incorrectly locates the dolphin as living in Sydney Harbour.[19]
  • The story of Pelorus Jack is (with some changes) recounted in the 1960's Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery anthology comic series.[20]
  • Singer/songwriter Andrea Prodan tells the tale of the dolphin in the song "Pelorus Jack" on his 1996 all-vocal record Viva Voce.
  • Two bulldogs, named Pelorus Jack I (1913–1916) and Pelorus Jack II (1916–1919), served as mascots of HMS New Zealand, the battlecruiser that the New Zealand government paid to have built for the Royal Navy.[21]
  • The Cornish poet, broadcaster and teacher Charles Causley (1917–2003) retells the story of Pelorus Jack in a 44-line, traditionally crafted poem titled "Pelorus Jack" in his Collected Poems 1951–2000.

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Wells, John C. (2000). "pelorus". Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (2nd ed.). Harlow: Pearson Education. ISBN 0-582-36467-1.
  2. ↑ Hutching, Gerard (1 September 2015). "The story of Pelorus Jack". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 14 June 2020. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
  3. ↑ Lawson, Will (September 1924). "Pelorus Jack: A Complete History of the Wonderful Pilot Fish of New Zealand". Pacific Marine Review: The National Magazine of Shipping. pp. 459, 466.
  4. 1 2 3 Monaco, Annalisa Lo (18 August 2020). "Pelorus Jack: lo straordinario Delfino "pilota" della Nuova Zelanda". Vanilla Magazine (in Italian). Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  5. ↑ "The Legend of Pelorus Jack". pelorus-jack.com. Archived from the original on 21 January 2008. Retrieved 17 August 2011.
  6. 1 2 Parkinson, Brian. "Unique Wildlife of New Zealand – Pelorus". Ecotours New Zealand. Archived from the original on 9 October 2006. Retrieved 29 December 2006.
  7. 1 2 3 Maori, A. G. (June 1913). "Pelorus Jack". The Mid-Pacific Magazine. 5 (6). Honolulu: A. H. Ford: 565–569.
  8. ↑ Robbins, John (2011) Diet for a New America Archived 11 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine H J Kramer, ISBN 9781932073416.
  9. ↑ New Zealand's Cook Strait Rail Ferries Archived 27 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine, New Zealand Maritime Record
  10. ↑ Watson, Mike (11 October 2016). "Much loved dolphin returns to French Pass". www.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
  11. ↑ Pelorus Jack fact sheet Archived 21 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine at the Museum of Wellington
  12. ↑ "Wild Dolphins page 3". www.southwest.com.au. Archived from the original on 28 April 2006. Retrieved 28 April 2006.
  13. ↑ Atkinson, Tania (22 December 1994). Pelorus Jack: The Story of New Zealand's Famous Dolphin. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-1-86950-165-5. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
  14. ↑ Alpers, A.F.G. (1966). "Pelorus Jack". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008. Retrieved 29 December 2006.
  15. ↑ Sadler, F. W. (1952). "Pelorus Jack". The Nautical Magazine. Vol. 167–168. University of Michigan: Brown, Son and Ferguson. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
  16. ↑ Hughes, Peter (2000). "Eleven: Bob Lowry and the Pelorus Press (1945–53)". A Book in the Hand: Essays on the History of the Book in New Zealand. Auckland University Press. p. 170. ISBN 1-86940-231-6. Archived from the original on 10 November 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020. Referencing an advertisement for Pelorus Press on the broadside (1949-57) "Here & Now".
  17. ↑ "Pelorus Jack". Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary. Archived from the original on 14 June 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018. (dance instructions)
  18. ↑ Thompson, David Millstone and Allison. "The Dolphin Hey: The Evolution and Transmission of a Dance Figure". Country Dance & Song Society. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  19. ↑ Ransome, Arthur (1987). Peter Duck : a treasure hunt in the Caribbees (2006 ed.). Godine. p. 200. ISBN 0-87923-660-4.
  20. ↑ "Miracle from the Deep". Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #16 (Gold Key Comics, 1963)
  21. ↑ "Pelorus Jack, the mascot | NZHistory, New Zealand history online". nzhistory.govt.nz. Archived from the original on 11 June 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2020.

Further references

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  • Ross E Hutchins and Jerome P Connolly – The saga of Pelorus Jack (1971)
  • Edmund Lindop and Jane Carlson – Pelorus Jack (1964)
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