Meteor Impacts and airbursts in Australia, and some in New Zealand, since 1862.

Meteor Impacts in Australia, and some in New Zealand, since 1862. Cameras such as Map – Fireballs Aotearoa are leading the way. There are now many others, with Australia...following? It seems unfortunate with so many whales stranding in Australian waters they aren't doing more to understand the environment they acquire as their habitat. With the advent of camera monitoring such impact events are found more readily after 2020. I've included violent airbursts close to the ground because of their destructive qualities. I have included meteorite falls as well. If it hits, it counts in my opinion. After mapping these events it seems a large portion of falls are yet to be found and a large number will never be found or located due to their airburst origin and remoteness. I haven't included violent sonic booms even though I think they can be linked to the deaths of sea mammals. Some events below have clearly been involved in the concussion deaths of Cetacean. I also have not included events that have resulted in bird deaths and possible mass fish deaths to simplify the list below. I'm always finding further events so will update when found.

1862, Late January, South Australia, Mine Hill, Kooringa, Meteor Impact/Fall, small.

1922, June 2, Western Australia, METEOR IMPACT, NW of Geraldton in Indian Ocean, 170 km from the coast. Tremor felt 230km at Geraldton rattling windows.

1927, February. Meteor impacts near Clarence River NSW. The witnesses saw it fall into the river, creating a large disturbance.

1930, February 27, (+-1 year), Victoria, BOLIDE BURST/METEOR IMPACT, Lake Tyrell.

1929, June 30, Western Australia, west of Bunbury just south of Perth, BOLIDE BURST/Possible METEOR IMPACT, Extreme, sonic boom heard, three explosions. It seemed to fall into ocean.

1929, October 8, New Zealand, Godley Head Lighthouse, BOLIDE BURST/ METEOR IMPACT, nearly hit lighthouse and impacted the sea.

1932, January 1, Peakhurst NSW, METEOR IMPACT, Extremely Violent. 3 x 4 feet diameter crater. A woman and daughter fled the house after the explosion broke windows. Heard in a 40 km radius. A stack of fencing posts was flung 100 meters. The farmer standing 200 meters away was knocked flat but survived.

1932, December 22, METEOR IMPACT off South Australia coast south of Adelaide.

1934, December 21, Western Australia, Manfred Station, 120 km north of Murgoo, METEOR IMPACT, sonic boom and tremor with two meteorites found.

1936, January 23. BOLIDE BURST/ METEOR IMPACT, 440 km south of South Australia – Victorian border region, SW of Warrnambool. Approximate impact point (-39.50, 139) off the continental shelf.

1937, March 29, New South Wales, BOLIDE BURST/METEOR IMPACT, Manley/Balmoral, impacted sea.

1942, August, New South Wales, METEOR IMPACT. 20 kg of meteorites fell at Forestvale.

1943, May 16, Tasmania, NW Coast and inland. The great Tasmanian fireballs. SIX EXTREME BOLIDE BURSTS. METEOR IMPACT. Violent. Coming in from Bass Straight. Exploded over land and sea. Tremor, sonic booms. Over 9 hours 6 bolides were reported.

1948, July 27, Queensland, BOLIDE BURST/METEOR IMPACT, two violent explosions two minutes after detonation causing the tremor. Entered atmosphere 30km inland over Brookfield. Travelled into Coral Sea.

1948, August 11, Western Australia, BOLIDE BURST/METEOR IMPACT, violent, Indian Ocean west of Geraldton.

1949, January 5, Western Australia, Mt Ida. Inland. METEOR IMPACT. Violent. Nearly hit a mining town in an arid region, caused trees to flatten, one was uprooted and flung 100 meters.

1950, Month unknown, Northern Territory, eastern Kakadu Park Area, METEOR IMPACT. The site never located. The tremor was felt over 100km away.

1952, December, Northern Territory, METEOR IMPACT, 112km east of Darwin. Trees were uprooted and the ground churned as though hit by an atom bomb. It had detonated above the ground completely devastating an area of half a kilometer square.

1954, January 28, New Zealand, METEOR IMPACT, west of Wellington in the Tasman Sea.

1954, September 6, New South Wales, METEOR IMPACT, bolide crashed into the sea just over 11km off Ulladulla coast. Extremely violent/almost natural disaster. A couple of seconds slower and it would have wiped out a city block at minimum. It entered the atmosphere North of Sydney. It started exploding at 5000 feet and an object the size of a large plane impacted the sea with tremendous explosion. A piece dissolved before impacting 100 meters from the Manly Ferry in Sydney Harbor.

POSSIBLE. 1954, October 28, Western Australia, BOLIDE AIR BURST, travelling ENE from GAB, impact point Oodnadatta in South Australia.

1959, March 23, New Zealand, METEOR IMPACT. Three huge bolides fall into see 150 km west of Wellington. First 5pm, second 5:58pm and third 10:23pm. The second was the largest, and was described as a impact of high detonation.

1963, July 23, South Australia, METEOR IMPACT, Witnessed. Off coast into Great Australian Bight. Massive roar and explosion at sea in Great Australian Bight off west South Australian coast.

1969, The Murchison meteorite, which fell in 1969 near Murchison, Victoria. It belongs to the carbonaceous chondrite class, a group of meteorites rich in organic compounds.

1994, December 5th, South Australia, METEOR IMPACT, Mt Wedge. Violent impact on the hills of a farm. Pictures taken of ground impact. Violent tremor.

2008, June 28, New South Wales, METEOR IMPACT, hit sea 4 km off the breakwall and Point Plomer, Port Macquarie.

2012, June, Western Australia, METEOR IMPACT, Violent. Roughly 100km off the coast of Perth. Traveling NW. Witnessed.

2022, A meteorite that fell near the remote cattle station of Forrest in April 2021, which was recovered by Seamus Anderson and his team.

2022, Northern Territory, A meteorite that fell in Central Australia in 2022, which was captured falling to earth by Northern Territory Police CCTV cameras.

2022, Queensland, Fragments from an asteroid that fell in the Queensland Gulf region in 2022, which are being searched for by citizen scientists.

2022, Queensland, A meteorite that is believed to have landed near the tiny Gulf town of Croydon in 2022, based on data collected by citizen scientists.

Panic-clumping whale strandings induced by VLT radio waves.

Panic strandings are a slow process of mental pod breakdown or hysteria, and meteor showers seem to be the number one cause of this phenomenon. Usually, it is simply sheer bad luck, similar to a concussion, of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's a trap caused by land being in the way. In the open sea, whales and dolphins can maneuver around obstructive noise; however, when land becomes an obstacle, it results in disaster.

Can meteors produce sound, and is it possible to hear them?

Meteors and bolides are a captivating sight, filling us with momentary awe and sometimes temporary shock. These fleeting streaks of light serve as reminders that numerous small rocky objects and even tinier icy particles, most no larger than grains of sand, enter Earth's atmosphere every hour, every day. Most of them burn up in Earth's atmosphere and never reach its surface. Witnessing them is an enjoyable and exhilarating experience. But can we also hear meteors? Sometimes, following a meteor shower, people claim to have heard meteors as they disintegrate in the atmosphere. Some describe a low hissing sound, akin to the sizzle of bacon, when witnessing exceptionally bright meteors. So, what exactly are people hearing? It turns out these sounds are related to very low-frequency (VLF) radio waves.

For years, professional astronomers dismissed the idea of sounds from meteors but that has now changed. Typically, a meteor burns up about 100 km above the Earth's surface. Sound travels much more slowly than light. Consequently, we shouldn't be able to hear the rumblings of a particularly large meteor until several minutes after sighting it. It's analogous to hearing thunder after the lightning flashes have already occurred.

A meteor soaring 100 km high produces a boom approximately five minutes after its appearance—a "sonic" bolide-type explosion. The noise it generates is reminiscent of the sonic boom produced by an aircraft breaking the sound barrier.

However, some meteors appear to emit sound simultaneously with their visible presence. Is this possible? Yes, such meteors are known as electrophonic meteors. The explanation lies in their emission of very low-frequency (VLF) radio waves, which travel at the speed of light. While we can't directly hear radio waves, they can induce vibrations in physical objects on Earth's surface. These vibrations give rise to a sound that our ears may perceive as the sizzling sound of a meteor streaking by. Since VLF waves travel at the speed of light, observers hear them at the same moment they see the meteors pass overhead. VLF waves can penetrate seawater to depths of at least 10–40 meters (30–130 feet), depending on the frequency and water salinity, making them useful for communicating with submarines.

These observations are crucial because Black Dolphins exhibit intriguing diving behaviour and so correspond closely to the sound behaviour of meteors. The dolphins typically take several breaths before diving for a few minutes, with feeding dives occasionally extending beyond ten minutes. Although they can dive as deep as 600 meters, most of their dives occur at depths of 30–60 meters. Shallow dives typically occur during the day, while deeper ones take place at night. When conducting deep dives, pilot whales often sprint to capture fast-moving prey, such as squid. So most of their behaviour, “relaxed day zone” is within the realm of the electrophonic meteor.

Electrophonic Fireball sounds manifest in various forms, including popping, whooshing, singing, crackling, and sizzling. If pilot whales were subjected to prolonged exposure to a meteor shower, these sounds could be disconcerting. Notably, these sounds are usually heard before the fireballs reach their maximum brightness. Their frequency falls within the 37 to 44 Hz range, which is near the lower end of the average person's audible range, typically between 20 to 20,000 Hz. If you've ever driven at high speed with your back window open, you've likely encountered a 30-Hz sound.

Interestingly, VLF sounds detected via their VLF signatures can identify 50 times more meteors than sight alone. This underscores the significance of these auditory phenomena in understanding and studying meteors. As stated below and worth repeating: An average meteor might only have a 25 db sting to the ears however when you start muliplying this over hundreds and then thousands over hours and ten of thousands over weeks you can see how a dolphin with highly tuned echolocation could get incredibly tormented. One observer counted over 200,000 an hour and another 20 a second. At 25dp each the calculation is astronomical. Now times this by 50 and the average dolphin would be in a state of panic whose measure would be impossible to comprehend.

2014 - 2015. The Chile Sei Whale incidents. In one of the largest whale strandings in recorded history, 337 sei whales were stranded and died in between the Gulf of Penas and Puerto Natales. Even though not confirmed there are thought to be over 3000 animals over 6 months. Of the 337 found 32 were in a skeleton state. Also 2014, 3 cachalots died in New Zealand. 2014, 7 out of 8 Cachalot died in South Australia. In 2015, 12 of 22 long-finned Black Dolphins died in Western Australia. https://bolides.seti.org/

Time Frame - Bolides/meteor showers and whale strandings. Full report coming, update with minor changes, 1839 to present.

Whale-stranding figures are badly assembled. The earliest I have found was in 1839. A pod of Black Dolphins were located on a beach in South Australia. From here on information is sparse, for a while at least. Odd strandings of the single whale, a pair of individuals here and there, and the occasional meteor were seen. Then in 1860 the bolides arrived. Two major ones in South Australia that had a Bass Strait relationship. Ironically, and the only time its written, 1860 was described as a poor season for whales. Then in 1861 the Great Victorian Bolide event rocked the colony. Melbourne dodged a bullet. From then on the years started to produce whales more and more coming onto the beaches. Yes, whaling had something to do with this, undoubtedly but there was momentum starting. The reason I say this is that people were amazed when they saw one, literally trains, (later in the 1900's) would be filled with thousands descending to see one. So its well documented when a single whale was found dead on a beach let alone one swimming in the sea. So there is very good information flowing through the records.

By 1874 the bolides were hitting New Zealand and were spreading north throughout the Australian continent. These caused great excitement and like whale strandings well documented. So the skies started to was a shooting gallery. It seems it was a global situation with events documented all over the world, some very well known cases of impacts, simple rock falls and airbursts were freaking people out. Mass fish kills were documented sometimes and the whales kept coming. No mass strandings but basically the whalers were shooting anything within sight so it wasn't possible to really know. The word “stranding' didn't seem to be a popular phrase they used, it was more opportunity when they did strand. You have to remember whales were shot for sport or just fun. If you weren't clubbing seals you were running whales ashore and taking pitchforks to them and skinning them alive.

Then in 1899, a bolide exploded off the coast of Bellinger Heads in New South Wales, resulting in mass fish deaths. On March 16, an extremely violent bolide explosion caused severe tremors resonating from three distinct explosions. The meteoroid was travelling NE to SW over the coast 30km south of Coffs Harbor. Fish disruption was witnessed over 10 km inland along Bellinger River. Dead fish were reported washed along 10km of the coast the next day, some rather large ones. Remember this was an airburst, not an impact. What would be the consequences for marine life if it had been an impact?

It seemed the bolides were increasing in violence until they became extreme. A couple of violent bolides in Queensland were the start of tremor-type bursts of energetic breakups. The following are just examples of the strongest noted. In 1901, on November 11, Western Australia, a bolide came in from the Indian Ocean and burst as it traversed the coast 140km south of Perth at Bunbury. The other was in 1902, January 7, NSW at Werris Creek. It was travelling from NW to NE. Two sonic booms were reported when it entered the atmosphere west of Tamworth eventually crossing the coast at Jervis Bay 400 km away still dismantling before disappearing across the Tasman Sea.

In 1908 Tuntuska, Russia was struck by the most powerful explosion ever experienced by modern man. Across the world, not a month goes by without a report of some large meteor falling. This was the start of bolides in Australia going from the odd frightening event to a very real reality. On February 15, a mild bolide burst was seen in Bass Strait that was seen from Victoria. In May 6 and 19, two large meteoroids were seen in Hobart and surrounds both heading south. On May 28, New South Wales, a bolide burst over Cobar causing a violent tremor lasting 30 seconds. On, July 22, Victoria, Bass Strait, South of Bairnsdale, multiple meteors were observed, which were probably objects from a breakup of a primary body. Eventually, in September, five cachalots washed ashore at the Murray River mouth in South Australia at Goolwa.

In 1911, Tasmania, at Perkins Island in the north 37 cachalots were stranded and died.

Because of WWI data is scarce because of the turmoil in world politics, however, there were reports. In 1914, on September 15, a meteoroid over Bass Strait was seen during the day. It left a trail 100 km long in the sky. Any debris would have impacted approximately 300km west of King Island. There was one reported in 1917, November, Tasmania, Cloudy Bay, when 120-130 Black Dolphins.

In 1918, the world's worse stranding happened with 1000 Black Dolphins beaching themselves in the Cachtam Islands east of New Zealand. In 1919 the bolides were documented again and whales kept coming ashore, for all sorts of reasons. In 1924 England and Ireland had an impact at sea and a meteor causing a fireball that killed fish and birds respectively. Then in 1926 the bolides picked up in Australia, going from uncommon events to common. In 1927 bolides from Queensland down to Bass Strait corresponded with mass fish deaths in the coastal waters of NSW. In 1929 it started to get extreme. Three massive explosions in the Indian Ocean in June resulted in the first case of a Bottlenose dolphin pod washing ashore. Then in October, an extreme bolide airburst off the coast in NSW near Coffs Harbor resulted in fish deaths. The explosion was near Solitary Island and for two weeks dead fish washed up on the coast. This rolling bolide death sequence didn't stop. A massive bolide south of New Caledonia was terrible, corresponding with the migration of Shearwater birds. This bolide was accompanied by one off the coast of NSW and another that nearly hit a lighthouse in New Zealand that impacted the water. Into January and February, dead birds were washing up across Bass Strait. This track continued with whale strandings becoming increasingly common with more and more happening. This was even as the whaling industry was flourishing. In 1930, 100 black Dolphins washed up in New Zealand after a bolide burst described as extremely violent impacted the Tasman Sea. In far north Western Australia the following year a bolide burst on the coast coincided with a whale washing ashore.

In 1930, July 21, Queensland, Southport, A extreme bolide crashed into sea south off Cook Island west of Point Danger just after 8am. This came in at the same time the other one did in northern New South Wales (See same day, Multi-event, below). The low altitude passing and accompanying detonation shook houses and scared animals. It was witnessed in places over 300 km apart. Electrical interference, violent tremor (felt 10km inland) and sonic boom created a thunder that lasted 90 seconds. A dull thud was heard on impact.

On the same day in New South Wales, Billinudgel, three different meteoroids flew over coast into the sea. The first two were small at 4am and 8am, however, a larger one came in at 10am. A sonic boom occurred 3 minutes after its sighting. Further into the year; another violent bolide entered the Tasman Sea in August. Even though I can't link these events it is interesting to note that in New Zealand from July to October, a Blue Whale and 100+ Black Dolphins washed ashore. Here in Australia, a third whale in a year came ashore at Esperance.

In 1931, July 9, Victoria, a bolide travelling north was seen over the eastern sky as it passed the Gabo Island lighthouse. The tremor was felt 10 minutes later. The explosion was calculated to have originated 112km east of Bodalla New South Wales in the Tasman Sea. The largest event was four meteoroids over two events from Queensland to Central New South Wales.

In 1932 a small impact in rural NSW created a tremor felt 40 km away. Bolides and dead whales were regularly seen. In 1934 the Tasman Sea was hit again resulting in bird deaths with a toll described as the worst ever seen.

The next year a bolide was seen travelling into Bass Strait from South Australia. Months later 300 Black Dolphins are stranded in Stanley in NW Tasmania. This is an interesting circumstance because I can't place this into my probable cases because of a time frame I have set myself; just a commonsense timeframe. What it does refer to me is that where there is debris coming in, the chances of other parts of this stream being just as violent are almost 100%. As I've said before these streams can stretch out considerably and debris can come into the same area minutes, hours, weeks, months or even years later. So it gives you an understanding of the complexity of the issue and what we are missing or should I say what we are not encountering out there in the wide ocean expanse. Also in 1935, October 14, Australia, Tasmania, Stanley, East Inlet, 300 Black Dolphins, 10 to 25 feet. Wounds, injured. Out of 194 examined there were 80 males and 114 females.

The 1936 event is more straightforward. A bolide exploded 440 km south of South Australia. The bolide classed as violent crossed the Victorian border region SW of Warrnambool. Its approximate airburst/impact was near the continental shelf. Two weeks later a Cachalot washed up at Stanley, Tasmania. At this stage, Tasmania was ablaze with meteors and continued for the next month. Then three strandings occurred over days at relatively the same location. These occurred west of Stanley when 21 Black Dolphins came ashore at West Inlet Beach. Twelve were found at one location and another nine 3.5 km away. Two days later at Walkers Island (Small Island above Robins Island, 20 km west of Stanley), another 20 Black Dolphins were stranded. Then seven days after this at Robins Island, another 124 Black Dolphins became stranded. This brought the grand total to 165. For the next 8 months from Victoria to Queensland there were over 8 violent bolides, five of which caused tremors. Almost the same time in May 100+ False Killer Whales were stranded and died at Adventure Bay South of Hobart at Bruny Island.

1937 (Still working on this year).

1938 to 1943 WWII. Strandings and bolides did occur however I think these are underreported. In 1943 there was a multiple bolide event on the north coast of Tasmania. It was spectacular. Six giant explosive fireballs over 9 hours. These were highly dangerous and it was lucky no one was injured or killed.

Then in August 1944, in South Australia, a bolide was seen travelling SW heading towards the continental shelf west of King Island. Over a month later a split stranding occurred at Port Gawler of 250 then 50 Black Dolphins; a total of 300 individuals. This stranding showed to me that there were two types of stranding. The spread out or multiple/split stranding is caused by concussion and the compact pod stranding is caused to panic.

In 1945 no strandings or bolides were detected.

In 1946, 150 Black Dolphins were stranded at Manns Beach in Victoria. In South Australia, a pod of Orca were found beached. Even though I can't link bolides to these events the following happened. Two explosive bolides were detected in the months before in NSW. Both these bolides were frightening to the people underneath them. Then another was seen later on in the year in a slow break-up over Bass Strait. So the bolides were active during this period.

1947, (Currently working on two strandings).

1948 was quiet.

In 1949 a bolide travelled in from Bass Strait and crossed Melbourne. Nine days later a whale washed onto rocks at Port Phillip Island. On November 19, South Australia, a meteoroid impacted the sea south of Victor Harbor.

The 1950 strandings are very interesting and frustrating at the same time. I would say there is something here that can link all this. In mid February a large meteoroid was seen travelling NE across the Tasman Sea. It was described as larger than the full moon. A week or so later a pod of 70 Orca were found on Flinders Island stretching 32 kilometres. To me this was a concussion-based event. The whales were decomposing which suggested a split stranding. So even if the bolide before this was big and violent it didn't add up. Then I thought about the decomposition information and looked back in time. I thought about the August bolide however this was to the east of Flinders Island. So I looked at New Zealand and found a meteoroid stream had been travelling into the Tasman Sea late in the year of 1949. This stream was in the same direction as a later event in April 1950 when a daytime bolide travelling “slow” traversed the Bass Strait for several minutes. This stream had been going on for 3 weeks until a cachalot washed up at Portland in Victoria. This would have been basically at the same time the Orca's washed ashore.

1951 to 1952 (Still processing).

1953 was the year of a peculiar incident involving a mass fish death. The meteoroid stream extended from Queensland down to Tasmania. One violent bolide was observed in a four-minute breakup when it travelled east to west. In Bass Strait almost every night from the 1st to 21st high altitude meteors were seen traversing the sky. In February a 100 km long mass of fish, described as a saltwater species, was located between Gabo Island and Wilsons Promontory. It took a ship five hours to steam through it. In 1954 no mass strandings were recorded however some events need to be shown to show two things; what was going on in the atmosphere and that these events were common. In July a bolide burst in central Australia. It had a flight time of five minutes over Lake Ayre. Reports came in 500 kilometres away. And people saw the cloud 150km away. The most serious episode probably in Australia's history was the close call in August when a bolide flew over Sydney and impacted the sea. If it had been a couple of seconds slower it would have wiped out a city block. Two days later a second hit the sea after travelling over Canberra. These two meteoroids were connected, there is little doubt of this. These events closed the bolide era, sort of.

1955, December 22, Tasmania, Marion Bay, 200 Black Dolphins.

1956, (Month Unknown), Tasmania, Marion Bay, 20 Black Dolphins.

1957. (Still working on events)

1958 (Data Blind), September 19, South Australia, Seal Bay, 50 Black Dolphins, Kangaroo Island. Calves up to 20 foot Adults.

1959 to 1962 all was quiet. This was seven years of no bolides and no strandings. This is significant or coincidence however it is extraordinary after the previous six decades. What happened next would make it even more intriguing. Out of the blue in July 22^nd - 24^th 1963 a fisherman by the name of Mr K Ashaman was on his boat in the Great Australian Bight off the coast of South Australia. All of a sudden a meteor glowing like the sun passed over his boat and landed in the sea with a terrific roar. Two weeks later a farmer by the name of Mr H. Gurney reported he had found a pod of 59 whales dead on a beach 8 miles east of Eucla near the Western Australia, South Australian border. The longest was 18 feet and consisted of 35 females, 24 bulls and 3 calves. They were scattered along a 4.5 km stretch of beach that, by my observations into strandings, had all the hallmarks of a concussion stranding.

1964, NEW ZEALAND BANS WHALING.

In November 1964 at Friendly Beaches in Tasmania a unknown number of False Killer Whales stranded and died. The next month just north at Bicheno, on December 16, at Friendly Beaches, 50+ False Killer Whales died. These two strandings could be a split stranding of the same pod.

In 1965, July 14, Tasmania, Flinders Island, North West River and Suichui Inlet, over 100 Black Dolphins were found dead over 4km of coast, a possible CTE because of split stranding. Average length was 20 feet.

After this, apart from a bright meteor travelling over Bega there were no bolide/whale deaths until 1967.

1967, March 26, Tasmania, Pardoe Beach, 150 Black Dolphins.

An interesting point to make about this date is that six years later 59 cachalots were stranded in New Zealand. A concussion event. It was the first time this had ever happened. The only thing I can think of is that the numbers quickly responded to protection measures or the bolides were travelling south. I think both had a hand in this.

From here on in it seems whales did arrive and die on Australian beaches but they were very much in the south of Australia and individuals not pods. As I mentioned above it seems bolides did exactly this. What makes me think this is that all the time this bolide activity was going on before, and apart from a handful of events, Tasmania seems to have been the quietest of all the states. I know geographically it's small however it appears Queensland, from Brisbane to Bass Strait, was the hot spot, and that was latitude correct over the continent. There also appears to be a pause and then a pulse of issues as you will see to the south of Tasmania. Whether bolides are completely left is unknown, and more research is needed, however from the data, that I will continue with, this seems to be the case. And it appears they are on the way back. Whale pod deaths are telling us something and I think plankton plumes fed by bolide iron is the answer to this.

1970, Tasmania, Cape Grim, September 58 cachalots died, this was a nursery pod with 48 females and 10 males, most juveniles.

1971, No bolides however 32 cachalots stranded and died at Stanley.

1972, a pod of 27 cachalots became stranded at Strahan in Tasmania. This was the first time this had happened since 1911 when 37 stranded at NW Tasmania, 3 years after the Tunguska event in Russia.

1973, No bolides so far. January 14, Tasmania, Boomer Beach, Maria Is., 33 Black Dolphins, mostly females but one male, 4.2 m.

1974 No bolides so far. In 1974 at Perkins Island in Tasmania, on June 18, 43 False Killer Whales were stranded and died.

In 1975, February 18-19, Tasmania, Two Mile Beach, Dunalley, 200 Black Dolphins. The sex ratio was 39:54. The mean total length of 39 males was 5.055 m and of 54 females was 4.087 m. Later in the month on the 28, Tasmania, Two Mile Beach, Dunalley, two Black Dolphins. In October, three Cachalots were stranded at Flinders Island in Tasmania. I haven't found any bolide activity as of today for this event. In December, Tasmania, from Adam's Bay to Simpson's Point on the Channel side of Bruny Island, 109 Common Dolphins, The only large stranding of this species in Tasmania, Stranded over about 30 km of shore. (PCTE).

In 1976, no bolides or whale strandings detected. (still working on these dates).

1977, March 18-19, Tasmania, Ocean Beach, Strahan, 5 Black Dolphins.

In 1978, 253 False Killer whales stranded at Pukekohe, North Island, New Zealand. I'm hoping to find something to link this event to bolide activity.

1978, NEW ZEALAND PROVIDES PROTECTION OF ALL MARINE MAMMALS

1978, COMMERCIAL WHALING BANNED IN AUSTRALIA.

1979, no bolides or whale stranding detected, (Still researching)

1979, AUSTRALIA ENDS WHALING IN TERRITORIAL WATERS.

In 1980, January 26, a bolide burst was detected over Bass Straight. In March south of Trial Harbour in Tasmania; three Cachalots stranded. The carcasses were decomposing.

From 1981 to 1985 no bolides were detected. Whale stranding were the following. I'm only showing mass strandings and shorten it to make a point. Mass means more than one to me.

1981, Macquarie Harbour, Braddons Head, Strahan, Tasmania; 26 Cachalots stranded, 17 died.

1981, Fotheringate Bay, Flinders Island, Tasmania; two Cachalots were stranded and died.

1982, Ocean Beach, Strahan, Tasmania; 14 Cachalots stranded and died.

1982, Seven Mile Beach, Perkins Beach. Stanley, Tasmania. 8 Cachalots.

1982, Perkins Bay, Stanley, Tasmania; 9 Cachalots stranded, 4 survived.

1983, Victoria, Beach between Point Hicks and Mallacoota. 87 dead Black Dolphins.

1983, Double Sandy Point Bay, Tasmania, 90 - 120 Black Dolphins.

1984, Perkins Bay, Stanley, Tasmania; 8 Cachalots stranded and died.

1985, north NSW, 28 False Killer whales (Tasmanian Whales), refloated 21, Crowdy Head.

The above shows that the bolides were south of Tasmania. Apart from one mass stranding in NSW, the last one, they were all located in Tasmania. Totals, 57 Cachalot deaths, 207 Black Dolphins and 21 False Orca.

1986, WHALING BANNED.

The years 1986 to 1991 I call the Book End era. New Zealand and Tasmania. In 1986, in Western Australia, the Unfortunatelymouth of Blackwood River, Augusta, 5 False Killer Whales washed ashore. In 1987 and 1988, no bolides or strandings in Australia. On January 24, 1988, in New Zealand, a violent bolide exploded on the east coast of the North Island at sea. It created a low-pressure sonic boom. In February a Minke whale washed up dead.

On September 28, Western Australia, Augusta, 40 False Killer Whales. Found 30km east of Augusta. After a two-day rescue attempt 32 were saved. Unfortunatly on October 1, 23 False Killer Whales died on an inaccessible beach near the first stranding. Probable Split stranding of a larger pod.

To end 1988 in Tasmania, 20 Black Dolphins. They were found along a 3 km of coast line south of the Pieman River. The following year in Whangarei, New Zealand, North Island, 46 Black Dolphins. Then another 40 Black Dolphins at Ninety Mile Beach in New Zealand. In 1990 four Rough Toothed Dolphins were stranded and died at South Island New Zealand, Marlborough. Then in 1991 at Sandy Cape Tasmania 160 Black Dolphins were stranded and died. As you can see there is a pattern in location.

At the start of 1992 it continued in this motion when 76 Black Dolphins were stranded and died at Strahan in Tasmania. Then a stranding in the middle of the year in NSW at Seal Rocks near Forster where 47 False Killer whales, the majority that were saved, seemed to be the catalyst of something new brewing.

The bolides arrived, or should I say, seen again. The first was inland in Queensalnd. It was large and violent. Then on the same day in Canberra, a number of large bolides were witnessed. To cap it off Tasmania was in the firing line with multiple bolides witnessed. The sky was active on the east coast. Then in the same month 10km north of Bicheno, Tasmania, 200 Black Dolphins were found stretched out along 200 m of beach. It was the third stranding within 12 months; that's 426 Black Dolphins in 12 months in Tasmania alone. But it didn't stop. A lone heavy meteor shower broke out on the NSW – Queensland border. It showed trouble was still in the air and culminated in more strandings in Tasmania with 76 Black Dolphins and then 10 Cachalots beaching themselves.

There was a six-month break then in April 1993 the Tasman Sea and Bass Strait, were again under bolide attack. Dozens were seen travelling east from Australia into the Tasman. Later on in the year 134 Black Dolphins washed up in split strandings in New Zealand. South Australia recorded its 17^th whale stranding in a year and a Humpback washed up dead in NSW.

In 1994 it was semi-quiet. A meteor impacted the ground in South Australia, there was a bolide burst in central Australia and a single Cachalot washed up in New Zealand.

In 1995 an interesting set of events are correlated together with further research needed. In May an extremely violent air burst from a bolide occurred NE of Perth. This came after a fish kill from Albany to Victoria and up to NSW occurred involving millions of pilchards. Something happened to do this and hot weather or poisoning doesn't fit. Not linked but eventful was in December down in Antarctica where a bolide burst over the Wilkins Ice Shelf in Antarctica lasted one minute. This was an extremely violent event that can only be described as destructive atmospheric bruising.

From 1996 to 2003, 8 years, it was quiet for both bolides and strandings, only single whales consisting of a calf and a single Southern Right Whale.

2002, FIRST WINDFARM INSTALLED IN AUSTRALIA. This in itself represents that windfarms are not the cause of whale stranding because strandings were happening before this. New Zealand installed its first turbine in 1993 and was a single land unit. The first whole-scale structure farm was built in 1996 with seven turbines and another eight in 2004.

From 2003 to early 2020. Due to data blinds, it is hard for me to attempt to explain or deliver any results within this time frame. Given time the story should be completed, however, I really couldn't say anything credible at the moment. I'm sure the answers will come once I gain the information required. There are some major strandings, and one the worst in Tasmania's modern history, so it should be interesting to resolve this event. I will say a bolide was detected however I need to make sure this was responsible by locating further information. Finally in this section is between 2003 and 2020 there were 8 mass strandings each in NZ, Tasmania and WA and one each in QLD, SA and Victoria.

In late 2020 I have the added benefit of Pacific Ocean satellite data. In November, bolides were detected around Chatman Islands, 15th -37.4, -176.0, 16th, -42.4, -166.2. Unfortunately, 100 Black Dolphins and a single Common Dolphin were stranded at Wailang West, Chatman Islands. Luckily a research ship at the Huon Marine Park south of Tasmania caught a very bright bolide on camera. Even though this is far away from the stranding location it shows the bolides were active across the ocean latitude.

In 2021, no bolides or whale strandings witnessed or detected.

In 2022 a bolide was detected in March (-45.9, -171.4), East of New Zealand. The next day 31 Black Dolphins stranded on the South Island.

There is two very serious stranding in Tasmania in September with 14 Cachalots deaths at King Island and 230 Black Dolphins at Strahan. Only 44 survived.

In July, August, September and October bolides surrounded Chatham Islands which resulted in a split stranding of 480 Black Dolphins.

In 2023, 97 Black Dolphins strand at Cheynes Beach, east of Albany, Western Australia. This is the second time I can say a meteor shower was responsible for a stranding. A panic stranding. Panic stranding seem to be prolonged or quick by the state of the animals. A average meteor might only have a 25 db sting to the ears however when you start muliplying this over hundreds and then thousands over hours and ten of thousands over weeks you can see how a dolphin with highly tuned echolocation could get incredibly tormented. One observer counted over 200,000 an hour and another 20 a second. At 25dp each the calculation is astronomical. Once irritated and on the move, pushed away from food sources, unable to rest peacefully; this would lead to discontent and confusion within the pod dynamics until the pod starts falling like a pack of cards. Also what else is coming in that humans don't detect or understand that dolphins are picking up on.

Strandings can also be extremely traumatic for those who try to rescue them.

Whale Strandings and easy food locations for concussed marine mammals

Why do whales strand at locations like Farewell Spit, Tasmania's west coast, Bass Strait and other weird locations around the world? Easy food. I realized that these locations are where whales are heading to and seeking out because they are already injured. A concussed animal is basically going to do two things. Die, float then sink or seek shallow water to feed until recuperated. They come out of their feeding grounds already in bad shape. Sometimes only a handful of individuals might be injured and the others we never see because they are already dead. The pod navigates poorly and anything out of the ordinary, that most times they could manage like a storm, sends them ashore. A cachalot that depends on diving deep for its food would be in great difficulty if it just couldn't do this, and seeking shallow water would be the only option. Black Dolphins would essentially do the same, following shoals of fish into locations they would never bother with if fighting fit. Given exhaustion, lack of food, stress, and having to keep juveniles nourished; this would be an incredible strain on the pod. These are families, intelligent creatures with bonds that are not easily severed willfully. At all these locations whales navigate through all the time safely. Blue Whales have even been seen rolling around on the sand in Victoria before continuing on their journey. It's not the shallows killing on mass as such, it's the last port of call for desperate animals. A concussed mammal would be hard to diagnose. In all honesty, they would look like healthy individuals. There could be one or two with ordinary natural health problems, however, this would be expected in large pods of mammals. My biggest question is how damaged? Do they get better? Can they get better? And what if any long-term effects do they carry with them.

So why certain times of year, and not others? It is due to the fact that let's say an incident happens. You could have many scenarios that could go from killing a pod outright to only a few individuals injured or surviving. They wander because of a concussion. This is probably why you see different species wash up together because injured individuals might very well be left alone sometimes, lone survivors or abandoned to circle aimlessly. Whales have been stranded at the same time as marlins and other fish species. There is a lot to unpick in these strandings. Why are sharks all over some stranding and not others? Has the event killed sharks? Leaving the carcasses to wash ashore. Sharks do wash ashore with strandings, large ones at times, showing these sky incidents are truly indiscriminate in the way they kill. It's usually an oversight not to notice these other fish because a large whale or dozens of them are more visually noticeable. Whales need to breathe and fight to do so, which keeps them on the surface, and if running yourself ashore to breathe is the only option open to you, then so be it. A fish on the other hand could simply suffer down in the depths, eventually being snapped up for food. However, as I said large species of fish have been washed ashore in split strandings, not clumping events.

So back in the Southern Ocean, you have dolphins or whales that can't dive properly but sustain themselves long enough before heading north. This journey is instinctive and necessary for pod survival. If they could stay down south, the group as a whole would never be stranded and individuals that are sick would naturally die never to be seen again but wouldn't take the whole pod down with them. This changes when they need to move north. Then bad navigation, seeking easy food, a slow steady decline they themselves are probably/maybe oblivious to and it all unravels. This is why whales usually don't strand heading south. Remember the Southern Ocean is their home for a greater part of the year. Bolides have been quiet to the north and apart from your yearly natural wash-up deaths, no great stranding has occurred. This however is changing and as a consequence, this sky harassment could see large split strandings, not pod clumping. This is a crucial point also, the panic stranding shows that pods flee into shallows, and it seems an instinctive thing to do. With a concussion, it's the same but for totally different purposes, however, the instinct is there. Whale strandings that we see are but a small glimpse of a much greater story being written down in the Southern Ocean. The stranding is a consequence for an animal already under considerable suffering.

Forces behind Bolides: Natures Ramjets. Extract from upcoming report on Bolides and Whale Strandings.

Forces behind Bolides: Natures Ramjets

A simple overview: Asteroids are large objects found throughout the solar system. They are enormous, with some reaching hundreds of kilometres in diameter. Occasionally, these asteroids break apart, giving rise to smaller meteoroids that enter Earth's atmosphere. These meteoroids come in various sizes and shapes. Their chemical makeup can vary, but typically consists of two main components: Iron/Nickel and Stony Irons, for simplicity's sake. Bolides can approach from almost any angle, with speeds varying significantly. However, a common scenario involves a meteoroid entering Earth's atmosphere at a 45-degree angle. Some meteoroids bounce off the atmosphere and reenter space, disappearing forever. There was a case where scientists believed a procession of bolides encircled the Earth at varying altitudes. I refer to these long-lasting airborne bolides as "Nature's Ramjets." Others get destroyed upon entry, while some descend like slabs (as I term them). You can find these events and historical incidents on my Twitter account.

Some meteors streak in rapidly and are deemed noteworthy events. The distinction between a meteoroid shower and a meteor shower is a technically misunderstood and underrepresented field in earth science. Meteor showers, like the well-known Perseids, are caused by comets. These showers consist mainly of benign dust particles and pea-sized objects, occasionally including larger ones. On the other hand, meteoroid showers are unpredictable and can occur at any time. Their origin lies in the asteroid belt, where they typically reside until external forces act upon them. Jupiter's gravity and other planets play a role, as do internal collisions. Another factor, not yet discussed, is the perturbation caused by passing comets. In simple terms, this perturbation refers to a deviation in the path of an asteroid belt object due to the gravitational influence exerted by a passing comet. This influence propels or redirects the object from its usual trajectory, causing it to deviate from its inert path.

Comets literally drag these objects out of the asteroid belt, creating closely linked showers that have been somewhat obscured in modern history. As you will observe from events over the last 180 years, this historical oversight of bolides can be attributed to global events such as both world wars, extended intervals between events, event isolation, and the decline of natural warning systems, including stranded whales themselves. The final point is that if commercial whaling had not been prevalent for a significant portion of the past 180 years, humans might have recognized sooner the correlation between these events. Due to the low whale population, people failed to see the connection between bolides and whale strandings. Had whale numbers been unaffected, it's likely someone would have made the connection much earlier. During the peak of bolide activity in the last century, if whale numbers matched today's population density, thousands of individual whales would have died each year. The lack of numbers prevented anyone from identifying this natural process; however, it would have been apparent that something from above was causing these strandings.

At the end of the 1950s, super bolide activity declined in Australia and New Zealand. It remained quiet until 2015 when, in my opinion, the super bolide season recommenced. The duration of this resurgence is unknown. With the comets well on their way, we are poised for an eventful era.

I have observed that these meteoroid streams often provide warnings. The "rubble," so to speak, can extend for millions of kilometres. It is not uncommon for electrical interference to manifest days before a main body meteoroid appears as a violent super bolide. Occasionally, rocks simply plummet from the sky at terminal velocity. These streams can also fuel electrical storms that give rise to intense atmospheric reactions. This occurs when iron and other elements mix with water vapour and atmospheric gases. The result can be volatile components and the formation of fireballs—intense plasma clouds that are highly hazardous but generally benign. Interestingly, it has been noted that rain sometimes falls on clear nights after a bolide sighting. This is due to the introduction of fine particles into the upper atmosphere. Water vapour is consistently present in the upper atmosphere, whether the skies are clear or not. At any given time, there is as much water vapour above the Sahara as there is over England.

To put it simply, bolides can be thought of as nature's atomic bombs, though with unparalleled forces. Many bolides surpass the destructive power of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Some go undetected due to their slow breakup during entry into the atmosphere. The Hiroshima bomb was equivalent to 15 kilotons of TNT. In 2013, the Chelyabinsk super bolide event exceeded 440 kilotons of TNT. Such events were commonplace before 1960, during the peak of the bolide season. To give you an idea of meteor speed. If a meteor travelling at 30 km a second passed over the North Coast of New South Wales, it would take 1 (One) minute to reach New Zealand's North Island. The world record observation of meteor speed was over 70 km a second. Secondly, the power of a meteor is simply immense. An object weighing just a kilo impacting the sea at 48 km a second is like dropping 75 fully loaded train carriages full of rock into the water at terminal velocity. That's a kilo; imagine something in the tons? Or you have a sonic boom, which has been known to cause terrible effects in humans, let alone whales and other fish species in the medium of water.

When I talk about a bolide going “slow,” I mean 10 to 15, even 20 kilometres per second. For reference of how fast that still is, here is a link to something going a mere 2.8 km a second. To me, that's standing still. But just imagine if it weighed 10 tons hitting the water or blowing up above the water.

https://youtu.be/3qeoH_8jQ5E?si=ulzl1BVWzNqw2uTv

This is when sonic booms turn into violence that is truly terrifying. A witness once described a bolide turning inside out, and that's a fair and apt description. They literally explode like popcorn, and when they do, the percussion, the detonation of a solid iron/nickel meteor, is a force that is unmatched in nature. The sonic boom literally folds over the meteoroid, causing a reaction like a whip cracking.

It is true that speed is our friend. The faster a bolide comes in, the more likely it will destroy itself when impacting Earth's atmosphere. The problem arises when they enter at slower speeds. A rock weighing tons can survive; they do survive often, and when they do, it's devastating to the sea community. When discussing meteoroids and what people see, it's important to add, and I will repeat this many times, that we live on a tiny strip of coastal land. The population of Australia is found in a line of sky sight maybe 500 km wide. That leaves an immense amount of land unmonitored, so what is happening outside this realm when the land/sea ratio is 1:2.

In conclusion, here is a final representation of these phenomena. When a bolide does cut a path through the atmosphere, it is essentially creating a particle accelerator that creates fireballs. These fireballs are a conundrum that has baffled scientists for decades. Because of their complexity, I will not go into what they are at this time. However, fireballs in their own right can be dangerous and sometimes benign. Simply put, it's an object called plasma mixed with elements from the meteoroid itself; a highly intense supercharged object, complex and not to be discounted in bolide activity. Fireballs are misunderstood and further represent what will be a magical show as the bolide season unfolds. It must be said that explosive bolides do seed the ocean with elements, so the question should also be asked: Do these clouds sometimes bring something less than healthy with them? Further research is needed on this topic.

1994 -1995 Bolides and the environment. The great die off of Whales, Penguins and Pilchards.

Eight months of death. 1994, October bolide South Atlantic west of South Georgia (in exact longitude as earlier North Sea event), another below Africa in December. A 1994 December impact of a small meteoroid in South Australia. Outside these dates are a 1994 May bolide in the North Sea: an extremely violent 1995 May airburst roughly 90 km NE of Perth. And to end a super bolide that was highly violent was witnessed later on in 1995 over Wilkins Ice shelf that wasn't detected on satellite. With more information this can all be connected... hopefully.

1994, October, 72 cachalots dead in New Zealand stranding.

1994, November, 4 cachalots dead Belgium stranding.

1994, early November, 20,000 King Penguin chicks dead in South Georgia, South Atlantic.

1994, December, 11 cachalots dead, United Kingdom stranding.

1995, January, 3 cachalots dead in stranding.

1995, March–May, millions of pilchards dead WA, SA, Vic, NSW on the Australian southern coastline.  

Whale Stranding Update

 I've updated the year 1954 in the post below. I have also found a stranding for 1958 of 50 Black Dolphins. A really interesting event, terrible but interesting. I will make an effort that these dates and other information are updated regularly, but it will all be in the full report when released. The report will be large because it embraces basically everything so people can do their own assessment and add or change or help them with new ideas. They can only do this efficiently if they have everything at their disposal. The more I do I'm starting to realize we might be able to intervene sometimes months before pods strand which makes me happy. I became a little disillusioned that there wasn't anything anyone could do but this isn't the case. However, that is a long way off as there is so much data surrounding this issue emerging. It will have immense ramifications in the ecology of many fields. So keep tuned, what I find will be freely available, I wish I had some robots helping me. AI is useless...at the moment because input data that is incomplete gives you make-believe results so I haven't attempted this at all. It's going to be old-fashioned research I'm afraid.

The Fishing Trip

That Changed My Life

Forever

By

Matthew Hooper

This is a fishing story so it won't be short. Last year myself and five mates decided to go on a fishing holiday to Tasmania. Once there the plan was to charter a boat that would hopefully see us enjoy the wonders of the open ocean. We did as much at a local marina in the port city of Hobart. Our boat was named the Mac Coy. An apt name for something that looked the real deal.

It was a dark day and I hated the sea. I didn't know about fishing, I didn't care about fishing. For me fishing was what I did as a teen at a night club. For this IT manager the ocean was a deep and scary place, so the fish that inhabited this world were welcome to it. I knew so little about fishing that sometimes I needed to think whether I was eating fish or chicken at dinner. I had never actually had the opportunity to handle a fish at all. I was completely ignorant of the marine world.

From the time I saw the ocean that day I was sea sick. By the time we left the heads, I was sicker. By the time we had reached our position off shore where the undersea mountains dropped into the abyss, where I thought even fish would drown, I was yellow-green.

I was propped up against the cabin entry wanting to die by this time. The swell was five meters at a glance and the wind was gale force three.

My mates were fishing before they had their third beer, they loved it. A drum of blood and guts was being chummed faster than the snack food being consumed. I hated this!

So after a couple of hours of doing nothing but sway from side to side I was eventually handed an object. It was a rod and reel. I didn't want to fish! My senses were being assaulted and my mates ribbing me about being the odd sailor out was adding to the nausea. I just stood there hoping an albatross would fly by and I could snare a ride home.

Then a kindly gentleman, our captain for this mayday from hell, popped up to say “Good day!”

“Want to have a fish mate? Get ya mind off the old stomach... ay... give it a go?” The captain tried to be cheerful, but I knew deep down he wanted to punch me in the lower ribs, whip me with a yard of rope and tell me to grow the hell up.

“Ok, OK, just throw whatever over and I'll do whatever,” I totally dismissed his keenness. I was so sick that even if the sea god Poseidon came up to grab the bait I wouldn't have given a stuff about it. I then smartly remarked, “I don’t give a shit if bloody Moby Dick jumps on the end of the dam line...mate!

The captain grinned or smirked I wasn’t sure. He then meekly said, “You will.”

With that he opened a cooler box on the starboard side. Using both hands he clawed his fingers under the gills of a massive fish before hauling it out onto deck. I was in two minds at this moment. I was hoping that I must have been so anaemic that the captain had a change of heart and was going to suggest some secret raw fish meal to ease my sea sickness. I then pre-empted the invitation that was never going to come, until later that was. “I don’t feel like lunch” I said, with a lump coming up my gullet. I'd never seen a fish so big. All I could do was cough out a laugh and wise crack to my fellow seafarers, “Look, we have lunch ordered already!”

While the captain had hold of this “animal” a ship hand came over after rigging a line of one of my friends, who wasn’t catching anything other than the propeller. He had a gigantic hook in his hand that would be more at home in some urban myth horror movie. One that sees a maniac kill everyone at Sea World. At that moment I wished a pod of dolphins would come and rescue me. That half myth, half truth of the sea was as much as I knew or hoped for at the moment. This hook had wire attached, and the ship hand was wearing gloves you would find on a welder at a ford factory. I yelled inside. “Where the hell am I?!”

The ship hand then ploughed the hook through the back bone of this fish then delicately sewed the bent spear into position. One of my friends yelled “That’s a suburb Spanish Mackerel.” It was a fish unlike anything I'd ever seen before. My first instinct was to think surely this creature has to be protected by some sort of law? “What the hell!!!!” I gasped out. “What the hell in gods name are we fishing for?”

The ship hand simply said, “We don’t muck around down here mate,” he smirked then rolled his eyes at his captain.

It then took the two men all their energy they could muster to lug this fish, that would feed a family for weeks, to the back of the boat. Here they unceremoniously yelled one, two, three and threw, or more precisely dropped, the fish into the ocean. The swell that was eating the inside of my stomach took the bait into the dark deaths where even coffins had no rest. Even then I still didn't bother or care about what this devilish apparatus was that I had lodged in my hands, or why the devil my friends were enjoying catching jack nothing with theirs. Maybe they didn't care because of their beer consumption, I just don’t know?

Being the “smart” one that day I thought wearing thongs would escape the annoyance of wet socks; like the others were suffering from at the moment. I'd discarded the “supplied” yellow gumboots, which were now sitting in the cabin bellow. Even though my feet were cold, I was at least comfortable... I thought. I stared up into the sky hoping the grey clouds might distract me from the churning sea, but stuff me I was hit in the eyes by the rain drops from hell. Luckily most were going side ways in the gale so it could have been worse...I suppose. That was until I vomited. I unleashed a cascade of breakfast down my front. I couldn't take my hands away from the rod and reel to gain some dignity because everyone thought this sight was fantastic. My friends roared with laughter. Then out came the iPhone's to snap the happy occasion. It was after all a fun moment with your buddies, who would really want to help, so I couldn’t blame them?

Then lightening hit me, not the electrical stuff, but life.

My existence changed forever in the next couple of hours, in a prophetic way, a deeper more meaningful fashion that would open my eyes to the world around me. It made me think about why people care so much about the environment. Poseidon came to teach me a lesson.

In an instant I remember moving.

I went from wearing thongs to bare feet in a few milliseconds. I was lost for traction sliding across the deck as if I was skiing on an inland waterway. The only thing I had the sense to do in those couple of seconds was to curl up the old toes. Those knuckles, which were already blue from the southern ocean, hit the back board of the boat with an almighty crunch. At the same time the ship hand and the captain chased me. My two life savers grabbed me before I fell over board. One of the men flipped a gear on the reel freeing the tension from what ever had taken on that bait. As the captain pulled me back towards the chair a young deck hand quickly harnessed me into something who would climb the North face of the Matterhorn with. In a busy ten seconds I was fitted, sat and armed to do battle. I said to my self “MY GOD!”. It was the first time I had really taken a look at the gear given to me to fight this monster, whatever it was? The reel was bigger then the winch on my 4WD, and the rod at the base was as thick as my ten year olds lower arm. “Hell!” I thought, this is it. I've got a front road seat to one of man’s greatest adventures.

It was not until the crew had backed away that I noticed the noise. My toes were still curled and even if they were bloody or worst broken I didn't care any more. The reel screamed like a rocket engine. The line was being stripped off this winch as if it had been attached to a drag car.

The boys gathered in their lines and the iphones came out... again. Game on. Their shouts for a glorious ocean battle surged me on. Even the beer stopped flowing. Eight men were going to sit back to watch a sea sick guy that was as ill as a dog take on one of the oceans greatest predators. The Tuna!

The captain of the day then yelled, “It has no desire to end up on this boat mate! It will take you to the brink physically.” He flicked something on my reel and yelled “PULL!”.

The rod buckled and the first hit of pressure was in my abdomen. I vomited again. The iphones clicked away. The only silent ones were now taking video of the grand experience. The boat moved in reverse. A 75 foot monster that I was at least feeling safe on was being physically manoeuvred by an untamed beast of the sea. This thing couldn't be reasoned with or negotiated with. All it wanted was its freedom and was going to fight to the death to gain it.

One minute of pulling and reeling turned quickly into two. Then after ten I had nothing left in the stomach, my whole body in fact. If I had seen my lower intestine being chomped on by seagulls in the choppy current off the stern I wouldn't have been surprised. After thirty minutes I couldn’t feel anything below my waist and at the forty five minute mark I think every muscle had been detached from my back bone. At the hour mark I had aged ten years and my arms had been permanently damaged. I'm not lying, to this day I still go to the chiropractor to get the stress kneaded out. During all this time the boat was at the mercy of a gallant opponent that was unequal in fighting ferocity.

Then the sentinel of the sea decided to leave the ocean. Like a missile being launched from a submarine this tuna exploded into the southern gale that was whipping the ocean surface. The grand Pisces sailed into the sky treating the air as just another medium for it to swim through. Opening its fins this giant perfectly formed marauder of the ocean displayed its colourful silver, blue and yellow. After an eternity, when the line sprang up out of the water in a parabolic snap, the tuna folded its self into a bullet shape before piecing the water.

The fight lasted until the captain and ship hand grapple-hooked the tuna after an hour and a half. It took four men to slide this monstrous fish onto the deck. I looked at my catch dying for a few minutes before the ship hand hit it with an axe. I was horrified at seeing this. The spasms of this aquatic gem shocked me. In my exhausted state I wish my stomach had been filled so I could have vomited over the scene. Instead the undignified death of such a wild and free fish scrawled itself into my mind. I would never forget it. There was no glory in this, nothing at all.

Well, the boat journey back was just as bad. My mind was numb. I felt the whole episode distasteful; with the rocking of the boat settling my sediment of gloominess. If one of my friends congratulated me with a pat on the back one more time I swear I could have hit them. Once ashore I was still sick. So having tunnel vision in gaining some medicine for the stomach and a shower I hurriedly left the others. I was stricken with ocean-exposure after all so they understood. I staggered away not wanting to see any more.

Then the captain yelled out to me.“Want ya fish!?”

I spun around and without a pause stormed back toward the boat determined to tell the captain what I thought he could do with the catch. On the way there I saw a group of Japanese disembarking from another charter boat, obviously empty handed. I went up to the captain and said, “Mate, I'm in a hotel room with a bar fridge!” I pointed to the now dull eyed creature that was now frozen in death. “Where the hell am I going to store that bloody thing!” I then pointed to the little group of Japanese and barked, “Give the dam thing to them!” I then walked off hoping a tsunami would wipe out all the fishing fleets of the world...sort of. I was just mad at the time. The last thing I remember was seeing a dozen or so Japanese rejoicing as they carried this tuna along the pier. Even the women had blood and muck all over them.

The joys of fishing I thought? At least a lot of people would enjoy sushi over the next few months.

* * *

These are the facts my wife showed me on her iPad when my weary body was aching in bed three nights later. The Blue Fin tuna is one of the largest warm blooded bony fish in the world. Its hydrodynamic shape can grow to over 2.5 meters and weigh more than 260 kilograms. Some species grow to the weight of a horse. That fishing day I had a two hundred and sixty kilo plus ocean bullet the length of my wife’s Honda on the end of that line. The tuna's stream line body is deepest near its dorsal fin. As this body tappers towards the snout you will find eyes set flush with its body to limit resistance. These optical wonders have the sharpest vision of any bony fish, those of an eagle. The lower part of its body is silver white with a dusty yellow anal fin. The crescent shaped tail is only surpassed by a dorsal fin of brilliant yellow-blue. These fins can retract to reduce drag helping it reach velocities of near eighty kilometres an hour or faster. This spectacular fish can turn on a dime and maintain that speed. Whether left, right, up or down it is unmatchable to almost any other marine species in agility. This fish can dive to a depth of three kilometres. Its appetite is basically anything that swims, lays on the ocean bed or tries to leave the ocean to escape it. And through all this activity the tuna maintains a heart rate over 200 beats a minute. If it is not living in the fast lane the tuna will suffocate from a lack of oxygen over its gills. It can live for over 40 years, a non stop bullet of the oceans, a master of the seas that never stops swimming.

The scientific name for one of these tuna species is the Thunnus maccoyii. That made me chuckle; the Mac Coy. A boat ride into the ocean I will never forget or regret. I felt the experience made me grow, it changed me forever, I was educated, I am now an eco-thinker. I will never kill a creature as majestic and noble as that again. Now that I have witnessed a tuna preform aquatic magic I am now hooked on teaching others on how to protect them. It saddens me to see tuna stripped mercilessly from the sea. Without these creatures the sea will die, over 90% are now wiped out already. How long will it be before we say that the fauna of the ocean should be allocated the same rights as the animals of the land.

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Tasmania's Multi Superbolide Event

 

Tue 18 May 1943, EXPLOSION OF FIRE BALL. Reports from the various centres on the North-West indicate that several meteors or fire balls or possibly disintegrated parts of one fell from the sky on Sunday. Eye-witnesses say that three descended in the Leven district and a fourth burst in the air apparently almost directly over the home of Mrs. Walters, Temma, West Coast, who related a remarkable experience yesterday. Mr. Horace Hardy, Marrawah, telephoned last night that a fire ball appeared over the district about 1.45 p.m.on Sunday, heading south. Soon afterwards it was noticed by Mrs. Walters,who advised him that the fire ball seemed to burst directly over a high wireless mast at Kaywood House. There was a very loud explosion, which Mr. Hardy said shook his house, 25 miles away as the crow flies. Mrs. Walters said it seemed to lift her house twice. A thick pall of smoke descended following the explosion, and was still noticeable in the house yesterday. Grass in the paddock nearby bore the appearance of having been scorched. Although a search for two hours was made, no trace of metal or any other substance could be found. A thick black cloud remained for two hours after the explosion occurred. Ulverstone reports that three fireballs fell in adjacent country. The first was seen from the town to fall in a south-westerly direction at 2.15 p.m. in a ball of fire and leaving a trail of smoke. Residents of Gunn's Plains actually saw it hit the easterly side of Dial Range, where it exploded, and the ground shook. The second descended about 4 pm. on Black Bluff, the tremor being felt by workmen of the Loongana Sawmilling Company. At 9 p.m. a traveller on the road from Ulverstone to Sprent saw a third. On Sunday night at about 9.50 a fireball was observed from Devonport in the direction of Paloona. Similar reports have been received from several other centres.

EVERAL FIREBALL REPORTED Woman's Remarkable Experience Reports from various centres on the North-West indicate that several meteors, or fireballs —or, possibly, disintegrated parts of the one —fell from the sky on Sunday. Eyewitnesses say that three descended in the Leven district, and a fourth burst in the air apparently almost directly over the home of Mrs. Walters, of Temma, West Coast, who related a remarkable experience yesterday. Mr. Horace Hardy, of Marrawah, telephoned "The Advocate" last night, that a fireball appeared over the district about 1.45 p.m. on Sunday, heading south. Soon afterwards it was noticed by Mrs. Walters, who resides on the "Kaywood" property, at Temma. It seemed to take the form of a large curly cloud, black at one end, white at the other, and shaped like a large bullet. When it burst the ends seemed to come together, and then spring apart. Mrs. Walters advised him that the fireball seemed to burst directly above a very high wireless mast at Kaywood House. There was a very loud explosion, which, Mr. Hardy mentioned, shook his house, 25 miles away as the crow flies. Mrs. Walters said it seemed to lift her house twice, and she was surprised on making an examination later to find that the foundation was not damaged. A thick pall of smoke descended following the explosion and was still noticeable in the house yesterday. Grass in a paddock nearby bore the appearance of having been scorched. Although a search for two hours was made, no trace of metal or any other substance could be found. A thick black cloud remained for two hours where the explosion occurred. Ulverstone reports stated that three fireballs fell in adjacent country. The first was seen from the town to fall in a south-westerly direction at 2.15 p.m.. in a ball of fire, and leaving a trail of smoke. Residents of Gunn's Plains actually saw it hit the easterly side of Dial Range, where it exploded, and the ground shook. The second descended about 4 p.m. on Black Bluff, the tremor being felt by workmen of the Loongana Sawmilling Co. At 9 p.m. a traveller on the road from Ulverstone to Sprent saw the third, which also apparently fell in the district. Mrs. J. O'Donnell, of Port Sorell, reported having seen a fireball descend at a sharp angle towards the western horizon about 2.15 p.m. on Sunday. This apparently was the one which disintegrated over Temma. Mrs. O'Donnell said the ball in brilliance resembled the fire from an anoxy-welding torch, and as it descended it burst into an extended flame from which arose white smoke. The Devonport police were advised from Daisy Dell on Sunday afternoon of a similar occurrence. On Sunday night about 9.50 a fireball was observed from Devonport in the direction of Paloona. The color was described as white, with a blue tinge, and it appeared to be very bright as it shot through the clear sky. It seemed to make earth some miles to the south west, falling at a sharp angle. Messrs. A. E. Calver and A. Agar, of Burnie, while rabbit shooting at Tewkesbury on Sunday, and another observer at Romaine, saw the ball which exploded at Temma as it travelled across the sky from north-west to south-west before disappearing from their sight. The weather was calm and clear, and no noise was heard while the ball was in sight, although Messrs. Calver and Agar reported a rumbling as of distant thunder about ten minutes later. In appearance, it was a glowing ball of flame, from which heavy smoke emanated.

METEOR SEEN ON WEST COAST Several residents o£ Rosebery and Tullah heard a loud explosion and rumble at about 2.30 on Sunday. Many houses were, shaken, and high in the sky dense smoke and flames were visible. The phenomenon was probably the meteor that' was seen in other parts. The general impression is that it landed in the ocean off the West Coast, as it appeared in the. sky approximately due west, of Rosebery.

SEED AT WARATAH. - At about 12.30 p.m. on Sunday, an object' resembling a comet, with a red nose and white tail, was seen by many local residents passing over Mt Bischoff in a southerly I direction. As it neared the ground its tail changed to numerous colors. The object appeared to disappear into the Magnet Valley. Residents in the Corinna Road, about three miles from Waratah, heard what resembled a shell whizzing through the air. Seconds later, a seven' double detonation shook the ground, and reverberations were, felt for about live minutes. lt is thought possible that portions of the meteor may be found in the locality where it hit the. ground. For some time after it disappeared, a long streak of cloud was visible in the air.

ROCKY CAPE METEOR - Members of the local V.D.C. platoon, who were practising on the rifle range on Sunday afternoon, saw the meteor passing swiftly across a clear sky. It left behind a trail of white smoke and finally disappeared in the general direction of Sister Hills. As distance is deceptive., however, it may have been much farther away. As the meteor disappeared, two distinct explosions were heard. _ Several residents who heard them considered at the time that they were caused by explosives used by the V.D.C.