Discovery and early use of the River.
EARLY HISTORY OF THE DUGONG FISHING: BURRUM HEADS c.1910
The story of Percy Wheeler; Pioneering Burrum Heads Dugong fisher.
From Lorraine Woolley: Percy’s Granddaughter.
Percy Wheeler was born into the Butchulla clan on Fraser Island in 1883. After his mother, a Fraser Island native died about 1889; Percy lived with his father, a brother and two sisters on Stewart Island and around Fraser Island. Percy was the son of Harry Wheeler an Irish immigrant oysterman and dugong fisherman who operated along with J. Lionel Ching in the Great Sandy Straits. Harry and Percy, who was only a lad at the time, along with his siblings, worked a cutter named ‘Mavis’ while Lionel Ching operated his boat the ‘Mooeyan.
In 1910 Percy started the dugong fishery at Burrum Heads. He was described as a professional fisherman who also fished for dugong in his spare time. John Schwartzrock later joined Percy at Burrum. Percy’s sister Clara was married to Eddie Schwartzrock, John’s brother.
Two sail boats were used to tow the dugongs to
the beach for butchering, the ‘Grany ‘(Granville) and the’ Cutty Shark’. This
was believed to be an easy task, as the dugongs were plentiful and close to
shore at this early stage of the operation.
The ‘Grany’ was originally a sailing boat but later Percy and Jack Ford put a counter stern on her and installed an engine.
A shore station was used to butcher and process the Dugong carcases; it consisted of several boilers and a processing plant. Eighty precent of the oil produced for the market was produced at Burrum Heads. This station was still in operation in 1922.
In the meantime other Dugong fishermen had commenced operation; the Bellets at Toogoom and the Smith Brothers on the Isis River. Later Bill Billsborough began operation at Burrum and continued to work his station until 1963 when it was taken over by Mel Simpson and Cliff Chew.
‘Percy's' Dugong Oil
Tag used to identify his shipments by rail.
