Whaling was an important industry in Australian waters in the first part of last century – many of the whales caught were females and their offspring that were sheltering in bays for the breeding season and were relatively easy to capture. Whaling became important again from the 1950s when whaling stations were established at Albany in Western Australia, and at Byron Bay in Australia. Some of the products of whaling included whale oil, whalebone and spermaceti (which was used for making candles). In the nineteenth century another popular product from whales was engraved whale teeth. In the 1960s and 1970s, however, many Australians were increasingly opposed to the idea of killing whales, some of which seemed to be in danger of extinction. An independent inquiry in 1978 and the Whale Protection Act in 1980 brought whaling in Australian waters to an end.