Killer whales of Eden, New South Wales

The local indigenous people, the Yuin tribe, believed the killer whales to be their totem animal and reincarnations of their ancestors.

[1][3] Yuin elder Guboo Ted Thomas heard stories of his grandfather riding on the backs of killer whales.

Thomas and his daughter Lynne describe Yuin cooperating with dolphins (cetaceans, like killer whales) to drive fish to shore where they could be speared.

[1] Local historian Barry Smith speculates that the black-and-white ceremonial dress of Koori warriors is based on the killer whale.

[1] Documentarian Greg McKee has been told by Yuin elders that Aboriginal Australians had a spiritual association with whales effectively dating back to the last ice age.

Clode's book, Killers in Eden, documented the historical accounts for this association including observations recorded by early whaling station manager Oswald Brierly, anthropologist Robert Hamilton Mathews and Yuin elder Percy Mumbulla.

The skeleton of Old Tom is on display at the Eden Killer Whale Museum, and significant wear marks still exist on his teeth from repeatedly grabbing fast-moving ropes.

[6] Old Tom apparently grabbed the tow rope in his mouth and lost some teeth in the struggle,[4] with Brooks recounting that Logan said "Oh God, what have I done?"

[11] In 2002, zoologist and science historian Danielle Clode wrote a nonfiction account of the story,[2] which was made into an Australian Broadcasting Corporation documentary in 2004, Killers in Eden.

The Eden killer whale pod is also commemorated in the Australian National Museum, with full sized models used as part of the display.