the lost whalers occurred with the coincidence of a new killer whale appearing each time a whaler passed away. Killer whales were seen as "working-dogs": playful, helpful, and friendly. Davidson family Alexander Davidson was a Scottish immigrant, who began shore-based whaling in 1857 with his son John. Their whaling station in Kiah Inlet was first built in the 1860s and was the longest running shore-based whaling station in Australia. The family utilised row boats and harpoons and did not advance with newer, more effective equipment, such as hand guns and motor boats. They say that this was to protect the killer whales from loud sounds and also to not scare them away. The three generations of the Davidson family all claimed to have old Tom assisting them on their whaling trips. Legend says that Old Tom would take the cable attached to the harpoon to pull the rowboat faster out to the open ocean. The relationship between killer whales and the Davidson family was based on mutual help: if a man would fall overboard during one of the whaling trips, the killer whales would protect the man from danger until he was back on board. Similarly, if killer whales became entangled in fishing lines, a whaler would cut them free. Indigenous Australian men were employed in the Davidson whaling crew, which is one factor that kept the Davidson whaling station going for so long. They were employed on the same terms as whites, which is one of the reasons the relationship between the killer whales and the Davidson whalers established. George Davidson's was the only relationship that mirrored the depth of the bond between Indigenous Australian workers and the killer whales. This bond might have been established due to the whalers of the crew feeding Old Tom and other killer whales fish while waiting for passing whales. In later years, this was one of the main food sources for the killer whales. George died in 1952. Law of Tongue The Law of Tongue is recognized as the “unspoken rule” between the killer whales and humans. This law refers to the process of whalers anchoring the whale carcass to either the bottom of the sea floor or in proximity to the shore, where the killer whales feed on the carcass. The primary target of the killer whales on most species of whales, specifically the baleen whales, are the tongue, the lips