Tantanoola Tiger Hotel
Home of the famous Tantanoola Tiger on display in the hotel.
In the early 1880s a small circus was making its way between Millicent and Mount Gambier. Making camp in a scrub clearing, the group settled for the night. On waking in the morning, they discovered that a Bengal Tiger had escaped and disappeared into the dense surrounding scrubland. After searching for the tiger unsuccessfully for hours, they continued onto Mount Gambier and reported their loss to the police. Many hours were spent over the next few weeks by police and volunteers searching for the escaped tiger, but due to the denseness of the scrubland, no sightings were made.
In the early 1890s sheep began disappearing from the Tantanoola area, blame being laid at the feet of the tiger, although no sightings of it were ever made.
In 1893, reports surfaced of an unusual animal in the Tantanoola area. Some described it as the missing tiger, some claimed it was just a large dog, while one person claimed to have seen this animal carrying a fully grown sheep in its mouth. Reports became more and more exaggerated. Sightings were supposedly made from Robe to Bendigo of the now famous tiger, while all the while, he was probably roaming over a small area near Tantanoola.
Tales were told, some true, many exaggerated. Supposedly, Tantanoola was a town besieged by the lurking tiger. Children, it was said were given shotgun escort to and from school. In many homes, guns were kept at the ready, should the tiger suddenly appear.
In August of 1895, Mr Tom Donavan shot the 'Tantanoola Tiger' on Mount Salt Station some 20 kilometres south of Tantanoola. The animal was immediately taken to Mr Marks, a taxidermist in Mount Gambier. He identified it as an Assyrian or Northern Russian Wolf. Donavan displayed the famous animal far and wide.
It was generally believed that the animal came to Australia via one of the three ships wrecked immediately off the coast between 1890 to 1893, making it ashore safety along with some of the passengers of the ill-fated ships.
Despite the shooting of the 'Tantanoola Tiger' sheep continued to go missing from properties in the district over many years. In 1909 and 1010, the number of sheep disappearing became a major cause for concern to landholders and police.
An Adelaide detective, Herbert Allchurch, was dispatched from Adelaide to solve the mystery. Allchurch posed as a brother to the local hotelier holidaying in the area. After a few days, Allchurch slipped quietly into the front bar of the Tiger Hotel and arrested local rabbit shooter and trapper, Charlie Edmunson and charged him with sheep stealing.
At his trial in 1911, Edmunson admitted to the theft of over 4,000 sheep over the previous 20 years. He was goaled for six years with hard labor in January 1911. Edmunson had been selling the skins of the sheep he'd been stealing, leaving the carcasses to rot. He was estimated to be earning as much as five pounds per week, a very good living in the depressed 1890s and early 1900s.
With his demise, the 'Tantanoola Tiger' would roam no more.
Bar, lounge and dining rooms. Quality meals and snacks. TAB betting agency, SKY television facilities and poker machines.
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Mobile: 0400 362 231 Phone: 08 8734 4066 Fax: 08 8734 4028 |
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