7/29/2019 Tantanoola Tiger (1923) http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/tantanoola-tiger-1923 1/3 The Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954), Saturday 6 October 1923, page 10 National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63784291 TERROR OF THE TI-TREE SCRUB Taiitanoola Tiger Reminiscences SIDEUGHTS ON A FAMOUS CASE 'Tantanoola!' Tantanoola!' Leisurely the narraw gauge train wheezes into a t)T)ical cbuntry railway station. The so phisticated tourist- rouses Jnhnself from his magazine long enough to poke his head through the window of the 'carriage and enquire facetiously, 'Where's ..the 'tiger? The last thing hi the 'world that he really expects to see is a, striped jungle cat ca vorting on the town ;1 commonage, but nevertheless he has hV Jittle joke. He is not altogether disappointed, however, as staring him in the face he can see 'The Tiger Hotel,' and on the top of the building, brazenly, waving his tail in the breeze, a replica in iron of the famous animal itself. A sheep-dip advertisement of a plump Merino draws the traveller's attention to a noted partiality of Tantanoola's famous 'tiger.' With a yawn he goes back to his magazine. Little 'does1' he know that in his boredom he is turning his back upon a relic -of one of the most famous criminal cases in the history of Austra lian crime. Thirty yean ago rumors began to filter through to Adelaide from the SouthEast ern districts of the State of the depreda tions of a mysterious animal among the sheep flocks of South-Eastern squatters. The beast, it was claimed, had bis lair among the ti-tree scrub about seven miles from the small township hi Tantanoola. j Fleeting visions of this local bunyip had been obtained ,but missing sheep provided ' additional evidence in support of the theory. Rumors and e xa gg er at ed r ep or ts piled one on top of the other, and a reign of terror prevailed at Tantanoola. Doors were kept 'barred at night, and the ti-tree scrub was given a wide berth. The tiger's fame spread until he was recognised all over the Commonwealth. He put Tanta noola on the map. Several years after the scare had origi nated, a South-Eastern sportsman shot a la-^e Russian wolf, and the news spread
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almost impregnable jungle he had waged. war on the sheep flocks of the district.
Still Sheep Disappeared
The Tantanaola tiger was dead!- Thekilling of the woItSku, at the time', theeensatipii. o£ the Hour; ?^nd the definite
solving of the mystery seBmed to %avebeen accomplished. But still sheep dis
appeared at Tantanoola; men still swore
that they had obtained glimpses of the
m
tiger, and the tales of his proportions and
peculiarities became larger and more fantastic. One man in particular was em
phatic and unswerving in his stories of
the existence of the mysterious animal
that hauntedthe
ti-treescrub.This individual was a sort of jack-of:all
trades of the town, and it was he who
was responsible for the iron effigy - of'The Tiger' which still adorns the hotel
bearing that name. Largely through his
stories the tiger scare continued. The
?world at large scoffed at at a fairy tale,
but still the mystery remained and the titree scrub, with its dense twining growthof sarsaoarilla bush, remained also a
place to be avoided.'
So the years went by. Sheep disappeared with monotonous regularity, but
eventually the townspeople became partly
reconciledto
thetiger.
But, wheneverthe interest in its deeds began to flag, the
.signmaker was ever ready to fan the
waning flame of public interest. The.occupancy of a rabbit trapping camp inthe vicinity of the scrub game him sufficient standing to air his views- 'I saw
/ -that blame tiger again today,' he wouldBay, and straight away the town would beagog.
Early in January, 1011, three local
sportsmen set out upon a snipe-skootin»expedition. While in the vicinity of thedreaded ti-tree scrub one of the party shota snipe, and the wounded bir^. fell amon*
the dense underbrush. Approaching thejungle, the sportsman was almost over
come by an overpowering slench. A
dead bullock and the decomposing bodyof a pony lay on the edge of the scrub,and were apparently accountable for theevil odor.
Pushing hia way through the almostimpassable barrier of ti-tree nd undergrowth, the enthusistic snipe huntertound that as he progressed the smell gotsteadily worse. Blindly groping his way
through a mass of tangled vegetaton, hesuddenly burst into a
suddenly burst into a narrow winding lane.
Obviously human hands had cleared thistrack. Following the lane, he finally
emerged into a large clearing. The scene
that met his startled gaze left him speechless with horror. Rotting carcases ofirtieep lay around the ground, and putridtilth was ankle deep all over the enclo8!£.e-JGleaming skuUs and bleached bones
added to the ghastly effect. The stenchwas frightful. Undeterred, the investigator continued on his way. Anotherlarge yard was discovered, and in it no
less than 42 carcases lay piles one ontop of the other. ?
White-faced and trembling with ex
citement, the astounded snipe hunteri.
rushed back to his companions. In anhour Tantanoola was agog with a newsensation. The news flashed across
the wires to all parts of Australia, andthe famous tiger was once more on
everybody's lips.Dragrloads of sight
seers came from miles around to view
the discovery.
Uncovered the Tiger's Lair
?A fluke had uncovered the tiger's lair.
'Where and who was the tiger? That)was the problem. An examination of;his stronghold showed that the autho-'rities were pitted against diabolical eun-jning. The corifetruction of the yards,ajid passages must have occupied years,
j
and showed that the game had' been
going on for a long- time.
The entrance passage, the narrow
?winding lane upon which the snipehunter had stumbled, had been!
strengthened with wire netting etoler.from a neighboring squatter's fence.This same squatter was one of the
heaviest sufferers as regards lost hheep.One thing was obvious. Only a droverof exceptional ability could haveworked sheep through the small aper
ture, which formed the entrance to the
killing pens. Experts considered this
a big task for three or four men with
trained dogs.
Every detail and precaution against'
discovery had heen performed with1
masterly care and cunning. The bul'lock and pony, Jeft to rot, at prominent
pointson the
edge of the scrub,had been shot by the tiger and dragged!into position to explain away the awful'