The Loxton Beast

In 1908, the Loxton Beast raised its head and caused concern near the Riverland settlement. The Renmark Pioneer reported that people were too scared to leave their homes at night for fear of running into the tiger near Mr Alwege’s property.
 The tiger had been seen near the rear of Alwege’s farm, with reports that horses, cats, and dogs would not stop in the vicinity for fear of being hunted by the beast. A posse of local men was formed to hunt the beast.[1] It is not known if they captured it, but as it was not reported in local newspapers, one can assume they did not!

 In early 1919, Loxton farmer, Arthur McCourt publicly claimed he had been working his farm when he spied what he believed to be a jaguar on his property.[2] A correspondent for the Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record newspaper (Renmark), called for a hunting party to be formed to pursue the jaguar, and ‘to hunt the animal down.’[3]

This was not the first time McCourt, who had previously lived in Tantanoola, home of the infamous Tantanoola Tiger and other thylacine sightings, had gone public with his claims. It is implied in the Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record newspaper, published on 7 March 1919, that McCourt was associated with cattle rustlers who were found guilty of starting rumours around Tantanoola that the beast had returned. These rustlers were captured and sent to prison.[4]

 Whether it was cattle rustlers or a genuine sighting of a jaguar, or a thylacine at Loxton remains undetermined. It is however an interesting story. I would love to hear from Loxton residents if their grandparents ever spoke of the Loxton Beast…

Researched and written by Allen Tiller 2022.

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[1] 'The Loxton "Tiger."', Renmark Pioneer, (26 June 1908), p. 2., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article109521734.

[2] 'Loxton's Jaguar.', The Mail, (22 February 1919), p. 2., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63762622.

[3] 'Loxton.', Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record, (7 February 1919), p. 6., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article109227561.

[4] 'The South East.', Murray Pioneer and Australian River Record, (7 March 1919), p. 3., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article109227803

South-East Tiger's

 South-East Tigers

“They had short front legs, long hind legs, and were nearly as big as a fox, with long tails like a monkey,” described Mrs G Breda in an interview with The Advertiser on August 13, 1971. Mrs Breda also described the creatures she witnessed as moving “With a loping action.”

What were these creatures that were spotted in South Australia's South-East in the late 1960s into the 1970s?
Numerous sightings of these strange “cat-like” animals were reported, with most descriptions being similar to the “Tasmanian Tiger”, or Thylacine, the last of which was shot in 1933.

The Thylacine had been extinct on the Australian mainland for over 2000 years according to scientific studies.

  In 1966, Mr C. Barker of Mt Gambier witnessed a “great overgrown cat” in his headlights as he drove a stretch of road from Keith to Naracoorte. He described it as about the same size as a sheepdog, with “black white, or black grey vertical stripes across its back”. The animal bound across the road “like a tiger” according to Mr Barker. The report reminded some people of the earlier sightings of the Tantanoola Tiger – could this be a descendent?

The animal was sighted again in 1966 by a 9-year-old boy named Richard Weckert in Kingston SE. Whilst on a hunting trip with his Father, the boy witnessed a cat-like creature in the wild, what was unusual, and stuck out most in his mind, was the very unusual tusks protruding from near its mouth.

In 1967, a sighting of the creatures happened near Naracoorte, when an animal fitting the previous description was seen “loping” across a field.

Reports followed over the years, coming from as far as Beachport, Robe and the Coorong.

The following year the creature was seen again near Naracoorte, and “Jumped onto a fence post like a cat”. It was then spotted by children on a school bus near Lucindale.

A witness described the animal after watching it through a telescope near the Coorong as; “He was a large animal, a bit like a fox and a kangaroo, but neither ... he had a dog’s head and ran with a long, loping gait. His torso was striped in grey, the rest of his body was brown.”

The last sighting of these animals was in 1971 near Mt Gambier. Did they die out, were they hunted down...or did they go further into the scrub as humans moved into their hunting grounds?

Have you seen a cat-like creature in South Australia's South-East – we would love to hear about your experience over on our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/TheHauntsOfAdelaide