Leslie Peel
Job Description
Cook
Period
1969 to 1971
Leslie was born in 1914. He trained as a Chef in Europe in the Grand Hotels before World War II. A very different journey began when he came to Australia in 1969. In Albany, he was offered a job on the Gascoyne as a Cook. He had worked on ships before, mostly a lot bigger, but by trade he was a Hotel Manager.
"No serviettes or Silver Service was required here" Leslie said. "They need wholesome filling food... and lots of it." He had to go back to basics, and in squalid and cramped conditions he played his part in giving them the best he could offer. Through storms and calm on the Gascoyne he made the best friends he ever had.
Leslie was amazed at the toughness and resilience of the whale catchers. He recalled they were from all over. Russians, Norwegians, Yugoslaves and of course Australians were all part of the crew. He was proud of them, as far as he was concerned. Outside a war zone, they were the bravest and toughest men, dealing with nature at its most raw.
In awe one time, the crew pointed out to Leslie, the head of a shark at the port side of the Gascoyne and the tail at its transcend. The shark was longer than the ship, and they were only 30 miles out from Albany. Its nickname was "Whitey" or "White Death". "We did all get a bit nervous, we knew the power of this shark and had seen them lash out and kill each other if in the way of getting at the whales."
Leslie could not tolerate a future in Albany the way it was with the whale catchers, and finally decided to move to Perth. He suffered a stroke and died a year later on the 30th May, 1972 at age 58.
Through his influence his daughter Laura Manning became a Greenpeace activist at a time in Albany when it was not popular, as many families relied on whaling for thier living. It is now a profound and historical fact that Albany applauds and glorifies its whale population and not its killing.
Leslie Peel