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Story: Dolphins

Pelorus Jack escorts a ship

Video file

Pelorus Jack swims in the bow wave of a steamer travelling from Pelorus Sound to Nelson in 1912. Although this clip gives the year of the dolphin’s disappearance as 1916, by all accounts that happened in 1912. This footage was part of a 1956 Pictorial Parade newsreel by the National Film Unit, shown in cinemas before the feature film.

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Archives New Zealand - Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: Pictorial Parade 47. National Film Unit, 1956

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

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How to cite this page

Gerard Hutching, Dolphins – Humans and dolphins, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/4698/pelorus-jack-escorts-a-ship (accessed 15 June 2026).

Story by Gerard Hutching, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 September 2015.