10 Havlandet

01 Walrus harpoon

These harpoons were used for walrus hunting from a deck boat. The harpoon was fastened to a line hanging loosely from a long wooden shaft. As walruses would sleep in herds by the edge of the ice, the hunter would embed the harpoon in the walrus and tug it back quickly. The animal would try to escape, pulling the boat by the line. Once the walrus tired from the effort, it would be killed by a piercing blow and then skinned.

02 Herring sinker

Before the invention of echo sounders, herring sinkers were used to locate herring shoals. The sinker was lowered into the water and the fisher could tell by the line’s vibrations how deep and how dense the shoal was, and thus also where to place the net.

03 Trolling spool with line

A trolling spool is a fishing tool consisting of a line, hook length, brass wire, one or more hooks, and a light sinker. The fisher rows with the line wound around their index finger, thereby dragging the trolling spool behind the boat. Once the fish bites, the fisher pulls it in by the line before releasing the trolling spool again.

04 Rack for fish line

To dry or store the fishing line, the hooks are embedded onto a rack. The topmost part of the rack rotates to the side, the hooks are embedded, and the rack is closed back up. Each rack can fit a specific number of hooks. This rack fits about 150 hooks.

05 Handline

In the 1800s, handlines were the most commonly used fishing tool. They are still used today on smaller fishing vessels. The handline consists of a wooden reel, a line, a twine tail, an iron sinker or another type of sinker, a backline and a hook. In the old days, the fishers would fashion the hook out of whatever was accessible, e.g., unused scythe blades.

06 Halibut harpoon

Halibut harpoons were used during the spring to hunt halibut in shallow water on a white seabed. Harpoons could be made for halibut, wolffish or flounder. The spikes on the one end of the spear were usually fashioned from two or three large hooks that were straightened, shaped, and fastened with tarred thread and leather.

07 Float fishing line with hooks

A float fishing line is a tool often used to fish cod or haddock from a rowboat. It consists of a float made up of wood or cork (today made of plastic or metal), a sinker, and a line. The float fishing line is usually set in the evening and retrieved in the morning, in the daylight. A float fishing line can vary in length, depending on the type of fish one wants to catch, current and seabed conditions at the fishing place, and, not least, the fisher’s experience.

08 Fishing gaff

A fishing gaff is used to lift the fish when it surfaces and then haul it onto the boat. The gaff’s length depends on the height of the gunwale and the size of the fish. Shorter gaffs are used to remove fish from fishing nets.

09 Tub for cultured buttermilk

A tub for cultured milk is used for butter making, curdling, and for storing and fermenting milk or cream. Before cream separator machines were available, these tubs were used for leaving the milk still and letting the cream rise to the surface.

«Mom made a lot of fermented cream; we even had a fermented cream shelf… When there were leftovers, you know, my mom would collect the sour cream in a jar. And that jar was placed in a room where I was supposed to clean the floors. I was about 10-11 years old. You had to work when you were young then. It took some time because I kept going over to the jar to taste. I thought it was delicious!»

Lillian Heitmann, 2021

10 Stockings

These stockings were knitted in Langfjord in 1942, using factory yarn that the Hansen Family obtained in exchange for wool and wool scraps. The stockings have been mended and elongated once they became too short. The 15-year-old Agnes Hansen wore these stockings when she was evacuated to Tråstad Farm in 1944. In addition, she wore two sets of clothing and carried a pleated skirt in her hand.