From 'Songs of New Zealand - Songs of a Young Country' edited by Neil Colquhoun p10, notes to the song 'Soon May the Wellerman Come' 'Shore whalers, unlike the whalers on ships, could not return to their native land. Even if there were a ship, they couldn't afford the passage; for they saw no money. Whaling companies such as Wellers' of Sydney, sent agents across the Tasman to collect the bone and oil; and to pay the men in sugar and rum.'