Thirty years after "Willy", a tropical bottlenose whale, was trapped in the Manning River for 100 days before it was rescued and left the river, another whale has seen fit to pay the Mighty Manning a visit.
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On Monday, May 27, 2024 a whale took a detour from the humpback highway and entered the Manning River, surprising Manning Point locals as it hung around before attempting to leave the river via Farquhar Inlet.
However, the whale was unable to navigate its way out and it is unknown whether it has been able to return to sea overnight or is still somewhere in the Manning River.
Jim Love, proprietor of The Waterbird Restaurant at Manning Point, said he first saw the whale at around 10.30am on Monday, May 27.
"Then it headed down to the river mouth and stayed around there for a couple of hours and came back up the river at about 3pm and (it) swam straight past the Manning Point jetties again and then just kept continuing upstream," Jim said.
"It's certainly a step up from the size of the animals that are usually spotted on the river!"
Peter Wood, a neighbour of The Waterbird Restaurant at Manning Point, had an up close encounter with the whale.
It's certainly a step up from the size of the animals that are usually spotted on the river!
- Jim Love
He spied a couple of men bringing their boat in and asked them if they had seen the whale.
"I said, 'did you see the whale out there?', and they said, 'no! Get in!'," Peter said.
Peter and his wife joined the two men in the boat. When they were about 30 metres from the animal, they cut the motor. The whale then came towards them and circled the boat before leaving.
"It took off to the river mouth and that's the last we saw of it," Peter said.
Keeping watch
On Monday morning, ORRCA was contacted via NSW Fisheries, who were alerted to the whale's presence in the river by a local oyster fisherman.
"And from there we got members out who were able to spot the whale," ORRCA head rescue trainer, Skippy Love, said.
ORRCA estimates the humpback to be approximately eight metres lone, but don't know whether it is a juvenile or a small adult.
"It appears to have been in good condition. There was no evidence of injury or entanglement."
There was a high tide last night and we're very much hoping that it went on the high tide.
- Skippy Love, head rescue trainer ORRCA
Ms Love confirmed the whale had been seen by the ORRCA volunteers attempting to leave the river unsuccessfully.
"There was a high tide last night and we're very much hoping that it went on the high tide," she said.
The whale hasn't been seen since yesterday afternoon, but a watch is being kept on the river in case it hasn't been able to leave.
"We've got members on site at the moment with drones, on vessels, on foot, checking the river as thoroughly as they can.
"At the moment our members are reporting that they cannot find the whale. So we're very, very hopeful at this stage that it's a positive outcome and that it's gone," Skippy said.
If, however, the whale has not left the river and a member of the public should see the whale, ORRCA ask that the sighting be reported via its 24 hour hotline on 9415 3333.
To learn more about ORRCA visit orrca.org.au.
Julia Driscoll
Julia Driscoll has worked as a journalist for the Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Times since 2014. She values the deep connection with community that being a rural and regional journalist brings.
Julia Driscoll has worked as a journalist for the Wingham Chronicle and Manning River Times since 2014. She values the deep connection with community that being a rural and regional journalist brings.
