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Title: TO RONA ON A WHALER

Reference number: 8200

Date: 1904c - 1916c

Production company: [ Otter Films]

Sound: silent

Original format: 35mm

Colour: tinted

Fiction: non-fiction

Running time: 11.58 mins

Description: Following a whaling boat and crew to the remote island of Rona. And the work at a whaling station on Harris.

This film is part of the Fisher Collection. Henry E. Fisher was a film producer of 31 Soho Square London and began collecting films in the 1920's. His collection of film from 1895 - 1920 (some several hundred reels) was variously offered to the BFI National Film Archive and other bodies in the second half of the twentieth century, but eventually ended up in the 1970's Bundesarchiv, Berlin. Around 2004 it was transferred to the Imperial War Museum Film Archive, London (IWM REF 1208-257-2) The National Library of Scotland Moving Image Archive (then known as the Scottish Screen Archive) was offered first pick of materials relating to Scotland in the collection after IWM had selected for their own preservation programme. This particular title was duped from nitrate original loaned to the moving image archive in 2008.

Dating this film accurately remains problematic. The whaling station on Harris opened in 1904 and there are references to Rona uninhabited for 30 years, (refers to the 1884/85 temporary inhabitation). Makes date of this film between 1904 and 1914? (Probably nearer the later date) IWM dating is circa1916.

Shotlist: [shotlisted from speed corrected tape, manual control track]

(0.00) Otter Films. To Rona on a Whaler. How we got to Rona. Diagram as someone draws pencil line on map of Britain from London to Edinburgh, Edinburgh to Mallaig, Mallaig to Tarbert, Tarbert to Rona (0.51) From Tarbert on a Whaler gvs on whaling boat, deck, sea, land in distance (1.24) Rocks and cliffs round Rona gvs high cliffs and crashing waves, rocky coastline (1.54) birds, flying around cliffs and nesting in rock (2.31) Startled guillmots. Saving their eggs. gvs startled guillemots on rock, some fly away, the remainder gather eggs (3.14) Rona has been deserted thirty years. Our camp among the ruins. gvs same - makeshift camp in among ruined stone cottage. Man prepares food, peels potato (3.52) another smiles for camera (3.53) Storm petrels' nest in the walls shot of bird peeking out of hole in grassy slope and flying out (4.14) Seals visit the low lying rocks. view of coastline, shot of seal splashing in water near shore (4.38) Sheep breed on the Island sheep run up and down a steep hillside. sitting on grass (5.18) But black backed gulls take a heavy toll. dead sheep lying motionless on ground. gvs birds feeding on carcass (5.46) On our return we sight a whale. men setting up the harpoon on deck (6.34) men on side of deck looking out [note: no whale is actually in view] (6.40) Towing it home. whale is pulled alongside boat, creating waves (7.17) At the whaling station our whale is cut up. slow pan R-L exts whaling station [on Harris] (7.43) shot of whale on slipway, man starts to cut it open (8.27) Stripping the blubber. gvs same, two men work in tandem to strip the blubber from the animal. There are quite a few men looking on (9.04) Hauling up the blubber. gvs as blubber is pulled up a ramp, the chains break then the process is repeated, this time successfully, Blubber is washed with jets of water in between the operations (10.03) Removing the whalebone. gvs same as man cuts it away (10.45) Gulls as scavengers at a whaling station. gvs as gulls flock and swoop above whale carcass, picking away at any meat remaining (11.58)