CC Brand bomb gun
Maker
Tracey and Brand
Datec 1874
Object number00033890
NameBomb gun
MediumMetal, gold leaf
DimensionsOverall: 160 x 970 mm, 10.6 kg
ClassificationsTools and equipment
Credit LineANMM Collection
Purchased with USA Bicentennial Gift funds
DescriptionMuzzle-loading cast metal bomb gun designed by Christopher C Brand and Charles Tracey. It has gold leaf decoration on hollow ring-shaped butt, trigger action and barrel with as open sight.HistoryWhaling has been an important industry for many cultures for centuries. Whaling provided the first fishing industry and the first exports for the colony of NSW in 1791. During the 1800s a variety of whale species were a valuable resource with their oil used in lamp fuel, lubricants and candles, their baleen in corsets and buggy whips and their ambergris in perfumes and soaps. Whaling became more industrialised as technology advanced, with the consequence of smaller whale populations each year. During the twentieth century, the industry became more controversial and controlled with quotas set for countries and cultures. Nations are generally divided into pro- and anti-whaling factions, with whale populations closely monitored by the International Whaling Commission (IWC). By 1978, whale products were no longer needed and Australia banned whaling and the import of whale products. It now supports the goal of a global ban on whaling.
The hand-held shoulder gun was used in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The projectile was a bomb lance or whaling bomb, which exploded when it hit the whale.
SignificanceThis is an example of a harpoon rifle used for hunting large marine animals, and is representative of advancements in whaling technology within the industry.
c 1994
