The tonguers were part of the shore whaling team that would cut up and boil down the whale. This song, known as "Come all you tonguers" tells some of the story.

"Come all you tonguers and land-loving lubbers,
There's a job cutting in and boiling down blubbers,
A job for the youngster, the old and the ailing,
The Agent will take any man for shore whaling.
Chorus:
I am paid in soap and sugar and rum,
For cutting in whale and boiling down tongue,
The agent's fee makes my blood so to boil,
I'll push him in a hot pot of oil.

Go hang the Agent, the Company too!
They are making a fortune off me and you.
No chance for a passage from out of this place,
And the price of living's a b***** disgrace!"

Some of the rusty old boiling pots can still be seen lying around the beaches where the whaling stations used to be.
Robyn