G'day WYSIWYG:

"WOBH = Whale Oil Beef Hooked. Say it fast and you will get it. I think it may be Aussie in origin-- it was born in a thread I think."

I think you will find this a lot older than the net ... and Pommy (English) in origin. I first heard it from and old Pom with whom I worked at British Leyland (Australia) around 1970 - and he said he had seen it as an entry in Punch Magazine's competition for witty new captions to old cartoons. The published cartoon for this month's comp. had an astonished fisherman on a beach, reeling in a whale ... and the new caption was roughly what you quote.

I'm afraid the credit can be calimed by neither us Aussies nor us nerd nerds.

Regards,

Bob Bolton