Port River Sunfish

 In 1903, the Adelaide Observer reported that Mr Seymour Bagot and a small party of young men were fishing in the Port River. (The Observer, in 1908, reported the incident happened at Schnapper Point).[1] Bagot noticed a fish floating lazily on the surface of the water with a fin protruding, he described it as looking ‘like a shark.’
Bagot reported the incident to the journalist stating,

‘I picked up my gun and fired at it twice in quick succession. It immediately dived, and I headed the launch for the shore. For a time, I lost sight of the queer fish, but it found us shortly afterwards and nearly capsized the boat. Our propellor struck it once of twice; and then I shot again, and this time managed to hit it in a vital part. The chase and kill were more exciting than any shark could possibly have given.’[2]

 The fish was 7 feet 2 inches (2.1 meters) in length; 9 feet 2 inches (2.8 meters) in girth, and length round, 18 feet (5.4 meters).  Each of its two fins measured 3 feet 1 inch (0.94 meters). The distance from the top fin to the bottom was 9 feet 6 inches (2.92 meters). The fish weighed 15 cwt (762 kg).[3]

The fish an Ocean Sunfish (also known as a Mola mola) can weigh between 250 to 2000Kg. They can grow to at least 3.3 meters and as large as 4 meters in size. According to the Australian museum, there are five species of Sunfish found in Australian waters; the Hoodwinker Sunfish - Mola tecta, the Giant Sunfish - Mola alexandrini, the Ocean Sunfish - Mola mola, Slender Sunfish - Ranzania laevis, and the Point-tailed Sunfish, Masturus lanceolatus.[4]

The fish was donated to the South Australian Museum. The Register newspaper reported in December 1903 that,

 ‘Very shortly the enormous sunfish captured in the Port River by Mr. Seymour Bagot, will be added to the collection. This example and a mute swan (one of a number given to the Botanical Gardens by the late Queen Victoria) are now receiving the finishing touches.’[5]

The sunfish caught be Seymour Bagot was on display in the South Australian for many years. Although it doesn’t mention Bagot’s Sunfish, this article, written by Dan Monceaux for the Marine Life Society of South Australia Inc., records modern captures of the Sun fish in South Australia: http://mlssa.org.au/2014/08/09/sunfish-sightings-in-south-australia/



Researched and written by Allen Tiller © 2024




[1] 'GENERAL NEWS.', Observer, (26 September 1908), p. 35.

[2] 'A SEA MONSTER.', Adelaide Observer, (18 July 1903), p. 24.

[3] 'A SEA MONSTER.', The Capricornian, (25 July 1903), p. 46.

[4] Kerryn Parkinson, Ocean Sunfish, Mola mola (Linnaeus, 1758), Australian Museum, (2021), https://australian.museum/learn/animals/fishes/ocean-sunfish-mola-mola/.

[5] 'ADDITIONS TO THE MUSEUM.', The Register, (22 December 1903), p. 4.

The Palace of Wonders – Adelaide Arcade Waxworks

The Palace of Wonders – Adelaide Arcade Waxworks

Discovering the location and any information about the waxworks that were once housed inside the Adelaide Arcade have been a labour of love for me over the past few years. I first discovered a little information about the waxworks when researching the death of Sydney Byron Kennedy, and the subsequent aftermath that followed.

 The Kennedy’s lived in the upstairs section of shop 11 (now The Manhattan Drycleaners) and worked from a shop on the ground floor, showcasing their style of psychic offerings and phrenology. The Kennedy’s were not the perfect couple, and Michael soon absconded to Tasmania, leaving Bridget Kennedy distraught.
Bridget sent a private detective to retrieve her son, who returned without him, but with the location of where to find him. Only a month later, young Sydney would be found dead inside the living room of the Arcade residence, and seven months later in August 1902, Bridget Kennedy, would also be found dead in the Adelaide Parklands (you can read about the case in greater detail here: http://hauntedadelaide.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/adelaide-arcade-part-four-madame-kennedy.html)

The first advertisements for the Arcade Waxworks (sometimes referred to in the newspapers as "Kennedy’s Waxworks”) appear in local newspapers in December 1901. In The City of Adelaide: A Thematic History, (McDougall and Vines 2006), on page 104, it states that the waxworks were positioned in the basement.

 This would make sense, as the Kennedy’s lived on the top floor and held their psychic productions on the ground floor, so most likely utilised the basement, for other purposes. It being cooler, and out of site from onlookers who didn’t want to pay, made it the prime location for it to be housed.

After his scandalous affair and the death of his wife and child, Michael Kennedy returned to the Arcade and ran the waxworks, which had become a major attraction in the city. 

In a weird coincidence of the macabre, the Adelaide Wax Works, inside the Adelaide Arcade, in 1904 featured a wax effigy of convicted murderer Thomas Horton. Thomas Horton killed his wife, Frances Horton at the Rundle Street (Mall) end of the Adelaide Arcade on February 27^th, 1904.
Thomas was hung for his crime in the Adelaide Gaol on May 12^th, 1904, when justice was much swifter, and brutal than today’s standards.[1]

Professor Michael Kennedy ran the Arcade Waxworks until his death in 1908. The waxworks were then taken over by a lady, also a psychic, named Madame Phyllis.

Madame Phyllis had 75 wax figures displayed in her version of the waxworks, so one would think, that possibly, the collection was now housed on the ground floor and in the basement.
When a guest would arrive at the waxworks, a tour guide would show the guest around the displays and give a detailed explanation of the real person’s life, and why they had been chosen by Madame Phyllis to be put on display.
Notable waxworks from this period included Queen Victoria, Sir Hector McDonald, Ned Kelly and his sister Kate.

After Madame Phyllis, the next owner appears to be Mrs Brown. In a 1935 article printed in the local News, retiring caretaker of 50 years (who took over after the death of Francis Cluney), Mr Jonah Benjamin, stated of Mrs Brown:

"She was a queer old soul, some people didn't like her. She was hardy and independent, but she had a good heart and many a time I have seen her walk out of her works and give some poor fellow a couple of shillings to go on with."[2]

I believe the next owner, Mr A. Netter, either bought the waxworks or leased it from Mrs Brown in 1941, but at this stage in my research, this is hard to confirm.
In 1942, a visiting group of soldiers to the Adelaide Arcade Waxworks, stole a full-sized effigy of Adolf Hitler.[3]

In 1953, The waxworks were removed from the arcade, but they didn’t go without a fight! As Mr Yeend, a carpenter, was removing the lifelike figures, one fell forward and pinned him to the floor, in the wax effigies hand was a sharp blade, which landed on Mr Yeend’s throat – as it turned out, the effigy was one of a murderer. Mr Yeend survived, with an incredible story to tell his grandchildren![4]

Believe it or not, this is probably one the local, former Adelaide attractions I am most often asked about by news reporters, as there is so little information available about it in local history archives.

I am keen to continue researching this fascinating attraction in the Adelaide Arcade, and would love to know what became of the waxwork effigies, and if any still survive. If you have any information about the former waxworks, or a photo, please get in touch!

Researched and written by Allen Tiller ©2017

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Bibiliography

1905 'Advertising', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), 3 March, p. 2. , viewed 18 Sep 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5039998

1908 'AMUSEMENTS.', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), 10 September, p. 14. , viewed 28 Sep 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5181306

1909 'AMUSEMENTS.', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1889 - 1931), 3 March, p. 11. , viewed 18 Sep 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article5178688

1909, The Express and Telegraph (Adelaide, SA : 1867 - 1922), 3 March, p. 3. (4 o'clock.), viewed 18 Sep 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-page23039181 (Madame Phyllis photo)

1917 'WAXWORKS', Daily Herald (Adelaide, SA : 1910 - 1924), 2 January, p. 8. , viewed 18 Sep 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article105384205

1935 'CARETAKER HAS WATCHED CITY ARCADE FOR 50 YEARS', News (Adelaide, SA : 1923 - 1954), 4 April, p. 11. , viewed 18 Sep 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article128824259

1942 '"HITLER" VANISHES', Mirror (Perth, WA : 1921 - 1956), 23 May, p. 2. , viewed 18 Sep 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75890802

1953 'S.A. Waxworks Dismantled', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), 31 July, p. 3. , viewed 18 Sep 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48272067

Find A Grave, 2012, Thomas Horton, Find a Grave, viewed 18 Sept 2017, https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=90947852

McDougall and Vines 2006, The City of Adelaide : a thematic history, page 104, McDougall & Vines, Norwood, S. Aust

 

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[1] Find A Grave, 2012, Thomas Horton, Find a Grave, viewed 18 Sept 2017, https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=90947852

[2] 1935 'CARETAKER HAS WATCHED CITY ARCADE FOR 50 YEARS', News (Adelaide, SA : 1923 - 1954), 4 April, p. 11. , viewed 18 Sep 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article128824259

[3] 1942 '"HITLER" VANISHES', Mirror (Perth, WA : 1921 - 1956), 23 May, p. 2. , viewed 18 Sep 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article75890802

[4] 1953 'S.A. Waxworks Dismantled', The Advertiser (Adelaide, SA : 1931 - 1954), 31 July, p. 3. , viewed 28 Sep 2017, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article48272067

Death in the Victorian Era part 2: ‘Widow’s Waeds’

 Victorian period clothing worn by women “Women’s Waed’s” (Waed’s being the Old English term for Garment), were generally black in colour, symbolising the lack of light and life in death.

 Usually, the clothing featured a bonnet made of crape with a veil over the face (the spelling of crape, with an “a”, signifies mourning).

 A widow would mourn for two and a half years.

  Widows would wear her ‘weeds’, coloured black for a year and a day to signify her loss, after this sections of her crape garment would be removed and sometimes replaced with lace or silk, and trimmings of ribbons might be added to their clothing.

In the final six months of mourning, a widow would then begin to wear subdued colours other than black, blues and greys being the most common. These changes would happen very gradually, but signify her end of mourning come soon.

 Eventually, right near the end of mourning, the widow may stop wearing black entirely, but still wear subdued colours, which small trims of colours could be added to via ornamentation of her clothing through ribbons, bows, rosettes and buttons. These ‘ornamental’ aspects of her clothing could include much richer colours than the blacks and subdued colours from previous months, including purples and creams.

 A widower on the other hand would mourn for a year. A widowers' clothing includes a black suit, black gloves and necktie, some gentlemen would also include black cuff links, black silk-lined hats, scarfs and kerchiefs.

  The Gentleman’s Weeds ornamentations vary depending on the relationship of the male to the person who has died. He will only wear his ‘weeds’ as long as the females of his household wear them.

 A child in mourning also wears black clothing, in the vein of the parents.

 The importance of mourning weeds grew to become monumental after the death of Prince Albert in 1861. Loyal subjects of the royal family took their inspiration from Queen Victoria who wore her Widows Weeds until her own death in 1901, which in turn began the Edwardian Era.

It was World War One that changed the Victorian Era standard for mourning a death, with so many people dying, it became the norm for almost everyone to be wearing their ‘weeds’.  World War Two only amplified the change in traditions.
 

 The influence of the Victorian Era, however, is still felt today. It is the social standard in the current age to wear black or dark clothing to a funeral or to wear the clothing that the deceased loved one admired, such as band shirts etc. It is seen as more important today though, to attend a funeral than to wear the formalities of suits and widows weeds of the past.

Next Week: Death in the Victorian Era part 3: Funeral Customs and Superstitions