In 1987 when Brian Perry dropped toilet rolls out of his whale-spotting plane in Hervey Bay to identify where the whales were, he could hardly have realised that he was launching a multi-million dollar industry.

Today, Hervey Bay is considered the whale-watching capital of the world.

Susan Gough Henly takes a closer look at these magnificent creatures which were brought back from the brink of extinction.

Images: Susan Gough Henly, Trish Franklin, Peter Lik, Bill Prime and Darren Jew.