The hook that fought the first Eden swordfish and won

Although sharks had been caught previously off the Eden coast, it was on a journey out to sea in 1936 when the first swordfish would be successfully caught.

The angler was Mr Borthwick from Victoria.

Six years earlier, newspaper articles described how W Scott of Manly Aquarium and his assistant H Borthwick, landed the "Wollongong sea-serpent", which moved at terrific speed and whose great head and back showed above the water.

The "sea serpent", which had previously been spotted at Curl Curl and South Reef on Sydney's Northern Beaches, fought with "tremendous fury" before being caught and displayed at the Aquarium to a crowd of 2000.

But it was his battle with "serpents" on the NSW Far South Coast on January 23, 1936, that pocketed a prize for the Victorian angler's boatmaster, and bragging rights for himself.

When Mr Borthwick and his party of eight left the shore on the admirably adapted boat at 4am, the angling crew sighted a number of sharks approximately 20 miles off Green Cape.

Described as being of the shovel-nosed variety, an 11-foot-6-inch-long (3.5m) specimen weighing 560 pounds (254kg) was hooked, put up a determined fight, damaged the launch, and was almost dead upon being hauled on to the vessel.

Every inch of the line was disputed by both fisherman and shark during the two-hour battle.

Earlier in the fishing trip a 14-foot swordfish (4.2m) had narrowly escaped after breaking off a hook, but after cruising around and approaching a fellow trawler, Mr Borthwick hooked another.

After an exhausting three-hour battle, the 240-pound (109kg), 10-foot-3-inch (3.1m) swordfish was wrangled and pulled aboard.

The wearied and supremely contented party dropped anchor at Eden Wharf at 10pm, and made their way up the hill towards the Hotel Australasia where host George Impey found himself a debtor to the master of the boat, Art Goulden.

The reward of five pounds was given to Mr Goulden, the equivalent of $570 in 2024.

Correctly authenticated certificates as to the weight and measurement of both swordfish and shark were secured the following morning, before photographs of the catch with their captor were taken in the presence of a large crowd.

Messrs WA Borthwick, A Goulden and R Avery of Victoria presented a block mounted hook and part of the line from this catch to Hotel Australasia licensee Mr Impey.

In the early 20^th Century, it was common for game fishing catches to be strung from the top deck of the Hotel Australasia, and many vintage postcards capturing these proud anglers are housed within the Eden Killer Whale Museum's collection.