Whaling in Australian waters began in 1791 when five of the 11 ships in the Third Fleet landed their passengers and freight at Sydney Cove and then left Port Jackson to engage in whaling and seal hunting off the coast of Australia and New Zealand. The two main species hunted by such vessels in the early years were right and sperm whales. Humpback, bowhead and other whale species would later be taken. Whaling went on to be a major maritime industry in Australia providing work for hundreds of ships and thousands of men and contributing export products worth £4.2 million by 1850. Modern whaling using harpoon guns and iron hulled catchers was conducted in the twentieth century from shore-based stations in Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland. A government inquiry into the industry in 1978 resulted in a ban on whaling in Australia and a commitment to whale protection. Whale watching is now a significant tourist industry in its own right. Aboriginals, whales and whaling Whales played a part in the lives of coastal Aboriginals in pre-colonial Australia. They were a totem animal for some clans in Western Australia. Their depiction in rock art in New South Wales indicates whales also had significance in eastern Australia. Four or five Aboriginal rock engravings near Sydney have been identified as depicting whale feasts. Beached whales, or those that died at sea and washed ashore, were an occasional food source for coastal Aboriginals. The smell of the decomposing whale would attract the first arrivals and messages would be sent to neighbouring groups to come and attend the banquet. There is no record of any traditional hunting of whales by the frail bark canoes or hollowed out logs used as fishing vessels. However, it has been claimed some had the ability to hunt them by other means, as in dolphin drive hunting. The Kondoli clan in South Australia were supposed to have been able to ‘’ sing'’ whales inshore in the hope they would beach themselves. According to stories recounted at the Eden Killer Whale Museum, Aboriginals at Twofold Bay in New South Wales somehow combined with killer whales to drive right whales ashore. What can be said with certainty is that the discovery of a dead whale was a major event for those living near the coast. One such group was encountered with a whale on a beach at Port Jackson on