Unloading the barrels of blubber

For over a hundred years barrels of blubber were unloaded at Blubber Box Quay in Peterhead. The scene depicted in this engraving is at New Bedford, in the USA, but the activity at Peterhead would have been much the same.

The ships are hove-to for repairs. The large barrels used for transporting blubber can be seen on the quay.

PS map Peterhead Harbour 1872
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Unloading barrels of blubber


Martyn Gorman   ·   University of Aberdeen   ·   Department of Zoology ·   © 2002