Mervyn Cobcroft is an avid collector of tales on whaling voyages. In 1989 by he donated the Eber Bunker Maritime Collection to the State Library of Queensland. Named after Eber Bunker, the 'Father of Australian Whaling', the collection comprises some 400 books and pamphlets dating from the 18th century to the late 20th century on the theme of whaling in the southern waters.