In 1845 John Bateman formed the Castle Bay Whaling Company with three other Fremantle businessmen. A whaling station called ‘The Fishery’ was set up at the Bay to process the whales to extract whale oil. Harpooned whales were brought ashore, and whale oil was obtained by boiling their blubber in huge cauldrons stirred with long handled spoons. The oil was then poured into casks for shipping. A cairn now marks the original site. The ‘whale lookout’ on the hill above Castle Rock was used to sight whales swimming past and quandong trees were seeded there at that time.