AN imposing whalebone arch which welcomes visitors to a picturesque stretch of North Yorkshire coastline is finally set to be reborn.

The famous arch, a gateway to Whitby's waterfront for nearly 40 years after the bones were donated by Norway, has deteriorated over time and needed to be replaced for safety reasons.

The town, famed as the home of Captain Cook, put out a worldwide appeal for replacement bones in 2000 and its Alaskan twin, Anchorage, came to the rescue after securing a huge pair of bowhead jawbones from Barrow, Alaska.

But this was just the beginning of a major battle against red tape to get the bones to Whitby. A host of permits needed to be applied for to transport the bones of an endangered species across international boundaries.

But after 18 months of tireless work by dozens of volunteers on both sides of the Atlantic and the intervention of a United States senator which resulted in a special law allowing the bones to be shipped being signed by President George W Bush, the bones are due to begin their 7,000-mile journey to Whitby next week.

Each bone is nearly 16 feet long and weighs 250lbs. They were taken from a whale caught for subsistence in 1996.

They will be transported from Barrow to Anchorage by Air Cargo Express, before Alaska Airlines flies them to Seattle. Cargolux International Airlines will then fly them from Seattle to Prestwick, Scotland.

The bones are due to arrive in Prestwick on Tuesday next week and Scarborough Borough Council will arrange overland transport to Whitby.

The arch commemorates Captain William Scoresby, a great Arctic navigator and whaler who sailed from Whitby 200 years ago, and his son, who became the first serious scientist of northern whale populations and eventually advocated their conservation.

It also came to symbolise the proud seafaring tradition of the home of Captain Cook, who mapped much of Alaska's coast.

Updated: 09:33 Thursday, March 21, 2002