The Whale, Dianmeri, by Mawalan Marika, Yirrkala (Northern Territory), 1948

Ochres on bark, in wooden box frame. Depicts a whale with a crosshatched body, two circles on the head and two on the tail (red), four more along the body (crosshatched). Curving across the whale's nose are yellow and white parallel lines. Red background, yellow lines framing the whale. Location: Yirrkala, Northern Territory.

There is no evidence that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people actively hunted whales. However, some Indigenous people did use beached whales as a valuable source of food, oil and other products. Whales are totemic for many coastal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups.