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

The Tantanoola Tiger

In the 1880s, South-East South Australia was overrun with speculation about what could be killing so many sheep in the area. Reports of a mysterious predator with stripes on its back began to be filed with local police. Rumour had it a large Bengal Tiger was on the loose, and soon fear spread that the wild beast may soon kill a human. By 1893, reports were so common that they started to make it into local newspapers.


The Advertiser reported in 1895,

“The tiger is reported to have been seen again at Tantanoola.

An employee of Mr Wehl who was out hunting last week reported that he had seen a strange animal, but was some distance off and did not care to make a closer acquaintance. He, however, sent his dogs forward and says they returned in great fright.

He then proceeded homeward, believing that discretion is better than valour when an unknown danger is ahead.”

In August 1895, Thomas John Donovan managed to shoot and kill a beast thought to be the predator big cat. The animal upon closer inspection, appeared not to be a Bengal Tiger but resembled something closer to Tasmania's Thylacines.
The animal was inspected by a zoologist and was determined to be a wolf. This led to a lot of speculation about why, and how, an Assyrian Wolf came to be hunting in South Australia. It is thought the wolf may have been a passenger upon a ship that wrecked off the coastline of Robe many years earlier.  The wolf, somewhat of a trophy, became legend – it was duly stuffed and put on display in the Tantanoola Hotel, alongside the gun used to shoot it.

 

 

The mysterious Tantanoola Tiger was dead, but sheep in the district were still going missing. This mystery was solved however when the culprit was found. A local man, Charlie Edmondson was caught red-handed stealing 78 sheep, and upon arrest admitted to stealing over 4000 more!
You can see the Tantanoola Tiger in the Tantanoola Hotel in South Australia's South East at 265 Railway Terrace East.

The Legend of Ben Bounty: Ghosts of the South Coast part V

Ghosts of the South Coast: Part V
The Legend of Ben Bounty

Tantanoola, a little town not too far away from Mount Gambier was the host to a cave ghost in 1890. The Ghost was spotted by travellers on a few occasions and reported to local police, who in their duties never came across the restless spirit.
The ghost was seen in the same vicinity on the Mount Gambier to Millicent road on several occasions by different travelling parties.
It never once hurt anybody or tried to communicate, but it did scare several young men who were riding their horses between the towns and spotted it in the moonlight, staring at them, from the entrance of the cave.

Tantanoola Caves

Not far away on the outskirts of Tantanoola comes the story of our next local ghost.
During the 1870s, a local man, known as Ben Bounty was prospecting, trying to make his fortune, looking for the legendary “gold reef” that was supposed to lay in the caves and cliffs and surrounding hills.


He visited the local quarry one day and noticed a Chinese man a sailor, who had obviously, by his dress and demeanour, been smuggled ashore near Cape Banks.
It was well known that Chinese nationals were flocking to Australia for the gold rush in Victoria, but the Vics had put a toll on the Chinese coming into their State from the sea, the easiest way around was to come into Port MacDonnell or Robes ports and then walk across the border, hence avoiding the toll. Obviously, some of the shady characters couldn't risk the customs houses and would be smuggled ashore and hidden away until they could join a travelling party and blend in.

Tantanoola Hotel

The Chinese man looked at Ben Bounty and pulled from his belt a large knife, he balanced it for only a second, then threw it at the prospector.
Bounty was never seen alive again.
A while later, the story got around about the old prospector and the Chinaman, from the very mouth of the murderer, who seemed quite pleased with what he had done.
One evening, a few young men, who had heard the rumour of Bounty's death, went to the quarry to investigate for themselves, at exactly 8 o'clock in the evening, they witnessed a white-clothed figure leaning against the wall inside the quarry. They stood and watched, one boy got brave and went a little closer to investigate.
When he was just a few yards from the man in white, the man moved just a little, and in the moonlight, the young lad could see the knife in his chest, reflecting the moon!
The boys ran from the quarry terrified, and from there, the legend of Ben Bounty's ghost grew into a local ghost story told around campfires to scare young children...

© 2013 Allen Tiller