1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:10,760 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:11,080 --> 00:00:13,560 Speaker 1: a show that gives a quick look it's something that 4 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 1: happened a long time ago. Today, I'm Gabe Lucier and 5 00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 1: today's episode is about a helpful dolphin who swam his 6 00:00:22,079 --> 00:00:24,760 Speaker 1: way into a country's heart and became one of the 7 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:28,080 Speaker 1: first animals in the modern world to have its life 8 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:44,559 Speaker 1: protected by law. The day was September four. By government proclamation, 9 00:00:44,880 --> 00:00:48,559 Speaker 1: New Zealand made it illegal to harm a beloved wild 10 00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:53,080 Speaker 1: dolphin named Pelaris Jack or any member of his species. 11 00:00:54,320 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 1: This was the first time on record that a country 12 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:03,200 Speaker 1: granted legal protection to an individual creature. Wildlife protection laws 13 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:06,080 Speaker 1: were not a thing at that point, so the idea 14 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:10,080 Speaker 1: of declaring an entire species off limits was unheard of, 15 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:14,360 Speaker 1: but the law was made in response to public outcry 16 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:18,559 Speaker 1: and in recognition of Jack's faithful service to the sailors 17 00:01:18,600 --> 00:01:21,959 Speaker 1: of New Zealand. If you look at a map, you'll 18 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:25,679 Speaker 1: find Cook straight on the northern end of New Zealand's 19 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:30,800 Speaker 1: South Island. The coastline there juts out in multiple places, 20 00:01:30,840 --> 00:01:34,600 Speaker 1: creating a jumble of bays and sounds with just a 21 00:01:34,800 --> 00:01:39,039 Speaker 1: narrow channel called the French Pass running through them. In 22 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:42,680 Speaker 1: the past, sailors avoided this route because the currents were 23 00:01:42,760 --> 00:01:45,839 Speaker 1: so strong that a ship could be easily pushed off 24 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: course and dashed against the rocky coast. But all that 25 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 1: changed with the appearance of Pelaris Jack, a rare white 26 00:01:54,280 --> 00:01:59,760 Speaker 1: Riesos dolphin who escorted countless steamerships through the dangerous stretch 27 00:01:59,800 --> 00:02:04,800 Speaker 1: of water. Jack was first sighted in eight by a 28 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 1: schooner headed for the French Pass. When the dolphin appeared 29 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:11,760 Speaker 1: in front of the ship, the crew reportedly reached for 30 00:02:11,800 --> 00:02:15,919 Speaker 1: their harpoons, but were quickly talked down by the captain's wife. 31 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:19,000 Speaker 1: That would prove to be a good call, because Jack 32 00:02:19,080 --> 00:02:23,239 Speaker 1: proceeded to swim alongside the ship for the next twelve hours, 33 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:27,240 Speaker 1: helping to guide it through the treacherous waters, and for 34 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:32,360 Speaker 1: the next twenty four years thereafter, Jack appeared almost daily 35 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: and offered the same service to nearly every ship that 36 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:40,800 Speaker 1: came his way. And I say his way, but really 37 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:43,880 Speaker 1: no one is certain whether Jack was a male or female. 38 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:47,360 Speaker 1: The dolphins size was reported to be between nine and 39 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:51,480 Speaker 1: fifteen feet over his twenty four years of activity. Some 40 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:55,120 Speaker 1: argue this indicates Jack was most likely a male, but 41 00:02:55,480 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: female Resos dolphins have been found as large as thirteen feet, 42 00:02:59,800 --> 00:03:05,200 Speaker 1: so it's hardly conclusive. The name Pelaris Jack comes from 43 00:03:05,240 --> 00:03:09,480 Speaker 1: the Pelaris Sound, a submerged river valley at whose entrance 44 00:03:09,560 --> 00:03:12,320 Speaker 1: Jack would routinely wait for ships bound for the city 45 00:03:12,320 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: of Nelson on South Island. Jack would pick up these 46 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:19,720 Speaker 1: Nelson bound steamers at Clay Point, near the top of 47 00:03:19,800 --> 00:03:23,240 Speaker 1: Pelaris Sound, and then guide them the five miles or 48 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:27,280 Speaker 1: so down to the French Pass. Jack also helped ships 49 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:30,400 Speaker 1: that departed Nelson on their way to Wellington on New 50 00:03:30,480 --> 00:03:34,520 Speaker 1: Zealand's North Island. For these trips, Jack would meet the 51 00:03:34,520 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 1: ships as they came through the French Pass and then 52 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:40,360 Speaker 1: stay with them all the way to Clay Point. Some 53 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:44,480 Speaker 1: accounts claim that Jack's beat included traveling through the dangerous 54 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 1: French Pass, while others say the dolphin would accompany ships 55 00:03:48,360 --> 00:03:53,040 Speaker 1: to or from the pass, but never through it. Regardless 56 00:03:53,080 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: of his exact route, Jack kept a reliable schedule, and 57 00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:01,400 Speaker 1: word of his daily appearances spread quickly. The dependable dolphin 58 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:04,360 Speaker 1: grew quite a fan base, and by nineteen o eight, 59 00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:10,120 Speaker 1: Pelaris Jack's sightseeing tours had become a cottage industry. Passengers 60 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:13,000 Speaker 1: from around the world came to see Jack in person, 61 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:17,240 Speaker 1: including well known public figures like American author Mark Twain 62 00:04:17,640 --> 00:04:21,919 Speaker 1: and British author Frank T. Bullen. There were even overnight 63 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:26,240 Speaker 1: voyages where the phosphorescence of local marine life could turn 64 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:30,640 Speaker 1: Jack's appearance into the kind of dazzling nighttime spectacle you 65 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:34,720 Speaker 1: might find at a theme park today. New Zealanders of 66 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:38,320 Speaker 1: all stripes, whether they worked at sea or not, had 67 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:41,560 Speaker 1: come to view Pelaris Jack as a kind of mascot, 68 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 1: or a pet, or even a friend. So you can 69 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:47,719 Speaker 1: imagine the outrage when the public learned in nineteen o 70 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:51,479 Speaker 1: four that a passenger aboard the S S. Penguin had 71 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:55,640 Speaker 1: pulled a gun on Pelaris Jack. Before you could fire, 72 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:58,279 Speaker 1: the man was wrestled to the deck by crewman and 73 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:02,440 Speaker 1: handed over to the Wellington Police East. However, because there 74 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:05,560 Speaker 1: was no law on the books for the protection of dolphins, 75 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:11,160 Speaker 1: Jack's attempted killer was released. The public was enraged and 76 00:05:11,240 --> 00:05:14,760 Speaker 1: demanded that something be done to safeguard their dolphin from 77 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:19,200 Speaker 1: future attacks. This outcry led directly to the order issued 78 00:05:19,279 --> 00:05:22,560 Speaker 1: later that year which made it illegal to capture or 79 00:05:22,640 --> 00:05:26,280 Speaker 1: harm Pellaris Jack or any other resos dolphin within the 80 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:31,000 Speaker 1: waters of Cook Straight and all its adjacent inlets. Violators 81 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:34,840 Speaker 1: could be fined anywhere between five to one hundred pounds. 82 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:40,520 Speaker 1: Although unconfirmed, the story goes that after the incident, Jack 83 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:44,640 Speaker 1: held a grudge against the S S Penguin. He supposedly 84 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:47,960 Speaker 1: avoided the ship from then on and no longer helped 85 00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:51,200 Speaker 1: guide it through the dangerous waters. What we know for 86 00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:55,840 Speaker 1: sure is that five years later the SS Penguin crashed 87 00:05:55,839 --> 00:05:59,000 Speaker 1: into the rocks and sank there and what was New 88 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:04,080 Speaker 1: Zealand's worst maritime disaster of the twentieth century. The idea 89 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:08,120 Speaker 1: that Jack purposely avoided a specific ship might be hard 90 00:06:08,160 --> 00:06:11,160 Speaker 1: to believe, but we do know that he preferred one 91 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:15,280 Speaker 1: kind of ship over another. Jack reportedly wasn't a fan 92 00:06:15,320 --> 00:06:20,720 Speaker 1: of ships with wooden hulls, preferring smooth, steel hulled ships instead. 93 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:24,360 Speaker 1: The going theory is that Jack enjoyed riding the pressure 94 00:06:24,360 --> 00:06:27,960 Speaker 1: wave created by the ship's bow, and fast moving steamer 95 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:32,040 Speaker 1: ships created bigger, stronger waves for him to ride, and 96 00:06:32,160 --> 00:06:35,599 Speaker 1: ride them he did well into his golden years too. 97 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:40,920 Speaker 1: In fact, steamer captains eventually started reducing their speeds so 98 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:44,240 Speaker 1: that the elderly dolphin could keep up with them. The 99 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:48,760 Speaker 1: last appearance of Pelaris Jack was in nineteen twelve, twenty 100 00:06:48,760 --> 00:06:53,400 Speaker 1: four years after his initial sighting. Rumors swirled that Jack 101 00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:56,920 Speaker 1: had been struck by a passing ship were harpooned by 102 00:06:56,960 --> 00:07:01,040 Speaker 1: Norwegian whalers, but the most likely story is that Jack 103 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 1: simply died of old age. A Risos dolphin lives between 104 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:09,440 Speaker 1: twenty to thirty years on average, and Jack was well 105 00:07:09,480 --> 00:07:13,960 Speaker 1: within that range, if not beyond it. Newspapers in England 106 00:07:14,000 --> 00:07:17,800 Speaker 1: and the United States published obituaries for Pelaris Jack for 107 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:22,880 Speaker 1: several years after his disappearance, but New Zealand papers never did. 108 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:26,480 Speaker 1: They continued to hold out hope that their old friend 109 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:31,800 Speaker 1: was still out there. However, over a century later, the 110 00:07:31,880 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 1: country finally gave the endearing dolphin the long overdue send 111 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:41,600 Speaker 1: off that he deserved. In a life size bronze statue 112 00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:46,960 Speaker 1: of Pelaris Jack was installed at Colonnette Point, overlooking French Pass. 113 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:51,640 Speaker 1: In this way, Jack's still there, greeting passengers as they 114 00:07:51,640 --> 00:07:55,080 Speaker 1: travel between Wellington and Nelson. So if you're ever in 115 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:58,760 Speaker 1: the neighborhood, be sure to repay the favor and say hello, 116 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,280 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Louisier, and hopefully you now know a little 117 00:08:03,280 --> 00:08:07,520 Speaker 1: more about history today than you did yesterday. You can 118 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:10,600 Speaker 1: keep up with the show by following us on Twitter, Facebook, 119 00:08:10,640 --> 00:08:14,600 Speaker 1: and Instagram at t D I h C and special 120 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:18,600 Speaker 1: thanks today to listener Drew Robinson for recommending today's topic. 121 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:22,760 Speaker 1: If you have any suggestions for a historical event you'd 122 00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:25,080 Speaker 1: like to see on the show, you can write to 123 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:29,200 Speaker 1: us at this Day at i heart media dot com. 124 00:08:29,200 --> 00:08:32,040 Speaker 1: Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, and thank 125 00:08:32,040 --> 00:08:34,680 Speaker 1: you for listening. I'll see you back here again tomorrow 126 00:08:34,800 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 1: for another Day in History class. For more podcasts from 127 00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:50,040 Speaker 1: my Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 128 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:51,840 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.