Whaling Industry Museum

Category: Civil Architecture > Museum

District: Açores > São Roque do Pico > São Roque do Pico > Cais do Pico

Location

The Whaling Industry Museum is located at Cais do Pico, in the village of São Roque do Pico. It is situated by the seafront, in an area that breathes the island's port history. Its location allows visitors to observe the port environment and the vastness of the ocean, which was once the stage for whaling activity. The old factory building stands out in the Cais landscape, serving as a visual landmark.

The presence of the ramp descending to the sea, visible outside, is a direct link to the past, marking the exact spot where sperm whales were hoisted to be processed in the factory. Being in this place is to feel the connection between the land, the industry, and the deep sea.

A Past Connected to the Sea

This museum preserves the memory of an industry that profoundly marked the life and economy of Pico: whaling. It is housed in the former facilities of the "Armações Baleeiras Reunidas" factory, which operated between 1946 and 1984. By visiting this space, one comes to understand the scale that sperm whale hunting and processing had in the Azores.

The São Roque factory was the largest and most important industrial complex in the region dedicated to this activity. Its transformation into a museum, being one of the first industrial archaeology museums in the archipelago, allows for an understanding of the social, economic, and cultural impact that whaling had on the local community.

The Structure of the Old Factory

The museum encompasses the entirety of the original factory complex, an area of about 1200m². It is not just a building, but a set of constructions that integrated all phases of the industrial process. Visitors can explore the different spaces that made up the production unit.

In addition to the large main pavilion where the transformation of sperm whales took place, the complex included various workshops essential to the factory's operation, such as the blacksmith shop, the metalworking shop, and the carpentry shop. Outside, elements such as the large chimney and the inner courtyard remain, helping to recreate the work environment of the era.

Machinery and Transformation Processes

Inside the factory's main building, visitors will find the impressive machinery that allowed for the transformation of different parts of the sperm whales. Here, blubber, meat, bones, and livers were processed, from which oil, meal, fertilizers, and even vitamins were extracted.

It is possible to observe the industrial equipment up close, such as the large boilers where the material was cooked, the processing autoclaves, the winches that moved heavy parts, and the grinding, pressing, and centrifuging machines used to separate the final products, such as oil.

Objects and Memories

Beyond the imposing scale of the machinery and factory structure, the museum presents more detailed elements that tell the story of the activity and the people who worked in it. Specific tools for cutting and dismembering sperm whales are displayed, showing the manual dexterity involved.

The museum also houses documents from the factory's era and an archive of photographs that capture moments of daily whaling life, industrial work, and the atmosphere of São Roque port. Miniatures of sperm whales and whaling vessels complement the exhibition, helping to visualize the scale of the hunt and the means used by whalers.

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt