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Revelation in the Age of Bigfoot
A Naked Yowie Project Initiative
1895
The Tantanoola Tiger
The Advertiser (Adelaide, S.A.)
Date: Jan 25, 1895
Page Number: 5
Constable McCallum, of Dean, has reported that while near Moollonghip he saw the Tantanooia tiger. He fired his revolver, and believes
he wounded the animal, which fled. A party is now scouring the country.
The Mercury (Hobart, Tas.)
Date: Jan 26, 1895
Page Number: 4
Constable McCallum, of Dean, has reported to Superintendent Parkinson that while on patrol near Moolonghip he saw a tiger, believed
to be the "Tantanoola tiger," lying in some high grass 20 yards from the road. He fired at the animal with his revolver, and believes
that he wounded it, as it sprang into the air, and fled through the fields. The locality is now being vigorously beaten.
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.)
Date: Dec 28, 1895
Page Number: 8
BALLARAT.
FRIDAY EVENING.
Superintendent Parkinson, one of the most popular police oflicers ever stationed in Ballarat, leaves this
week to take charge of the Bourke district. He was succeeded to-day by Superintendent O'Callaghan.
Launceston Examiner (Hobart, Tas.)
Date: Jan 26, 1895
Page Number: 5
THE TANTANOOLA TIGER.- Relating to this renarkable beast, a telegram from Ballarat in the Age of the 25th inst. runs as follows :-
"Mounted Constable M'Callum, of Dean, has telegraphed to his superior officer that while yesterday riding through a grass paddock
at Dean belonging to Mr Maples he espied a large tiger lying under a tree. He decided on despatching it, and drawing his revolver
fired at the slumbering beast. Before the smoke had passed away the tiger was seen (the police report states) performing gymnastic
exercises in the air, indicating that the bullet had hit home.
"M'Callum states that the tiger, after turning one or two somersaults,
made off through the scrub in the direction of the Creswick reservoir. This report has caused a great scare throughout the Creswick
and Bungaree districts. This after noon a number of young farmers went out armed to exterminate the tiger, but after beating about
the bush for a considerable time dislodged only a hare and a wallaby. The party will again scour the district to morrow, strengthened
by a relay from the Creswick Miners Association."
A later wire from Ballarat says :-
"At a late hour tonight it was rumoured that
the tiger had been shot by a travelling showman near the Gong Gong reservoir, three miles from Ballarat. Superintendent Parkinson,
however, contradicts the statement. It is probable several mounted and armed constables will be despatched to Dean to morrow to assist
in the search. The alleged discovery is now affording a good deal of merriment in some quarters."
The Tantanoola Tiger
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.)
Date: Feb 5, 1895
Page Number: 6
WOODEND, MONDAY.
Mount Macedon would appear to be the latest retreat of the Tantonoola tiger since a village settler on the mount avers
he has seen it and two others declare they have chanced its tracks. One of the men, who says he saw it on Sunday evening, declares
it snarled like a cat and showed signs of coming towards them. Some of the volunteers are talking of forming a party to go in quest
of the game.
The Tantanoola Tiger
The Advertiser (Adelaide, S.A.)
Date: Feb 4, 1895
Page Number 5
"Outis," of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, thus jokes callously at the expense of our one famous wild beast:—
In South Australia, when snake stories begin to pall and the sea-serpent requires a jest, by these signs we may always know that the
crudescence of the "Tantanoola tiger" is at hand. This terrible and inexterminable beast has therefore, in due course, just again
emerged from his lair and been once more shot by a policeman, after a most exciting encounter in the bush. It is now many years since
the Tantanoola tiger was first reported to have made his escape from a travelling managerie some whereabout Mount Gambier, and police
men and civilians have been promiscuously blazing away at him ever since. As they all declare that they hit him every time and generally
in a vital part he must now have several tons of lead inside his skin and would pay to smelt if anyone could get hold of him. But
that is just the trouble. Instead of shooting doing him any harm, he seems to thrive on it. At all events he appears bigger and more
terrible every time he appears. Evidently lead fattens him. When thebelated and well-refreshed farmer meets the Tantanoola tiger while
groping his lonesome way through the bush to his home in the ranges he generally appears blown out to monstrous dimensions, as with
bared teeth and, blaring eyeballs he challenges him to mortal combat. That is how he sees the Tantanoola tiger when he is out without
his gun, and many a contused wound he is able to show as the result of these blood-thirsty encounters. At length, however, systematic
steps are about to be taken for the of bringing the career of the monster to an end. Two Indians have been engaged to track him to
his lair and kill him. They profess to know all that is to be known about tigers, and undertake to finish him off within contract
time. But before starting they were careful to have a clause inserted in the agreement stipulating that if there was no tiger they
were not to be held responsible for a capture. They demand at least a run for their money, which foresight shows that whatever they
may know about tigers in general they have a pretty fair knowledge of the Tantanoola species!
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.)
Date: Feb 8, 1895
Page Number: 6
The members of the borough council made their annual inspection of the various reservoirs for water supply purposes yesterday. At
the head works at Dean, the caretaker, Mr. Clarke, pointed to the tracks of what is believed to be the Tantanoola tiger. The footprints
are much after the character of a dog's, but about the size of a man's hand. Councillors generally inclined to the belief that the
tiger had been in that locality.
The Tantanoola Tiger
The Advertiser (Adelaide, S.A.)
Date: Feb 8, 1895
Page Number: 5
The two Indians who, it was understood, had agreed to capture alive, by a means kept a secret to themselves, but practised with success
in the jungles of Bengal, the famous Tantanoola tiger for the trifling consideration of £100, food, and firearms, have apparently
been reflecting on their bargain and repented of it, says the Border Watch. Under the arrangement first made the landownns guaranteeing
the £100 were at the safe end of the bargain, as they would have to part nothing unless the beast were captured, and if no beast existed
then the hunters would have their trouble for nothing. Evidently an enemy has been at work and put this view of the case into the
Indians' minds, for it is said they now ask that a third one may be included in the party and that they shall receive £3 per week
each and their food until they find the beast!
Note: The average weekly wage in 1895 was a little more than £2.
Launceston Examiner (Hobart, Tas.)
Date: Feb 11, 1895
Page Number: 6
VICTORIA. Much excitement has been caused by the report that the Tantanoola tiger was seen on the Charlotte Plains on Friday last, where, it is alleged, the animal devoured two cows. On Sunday, it is said, the tiger was seen behind Mount Tarrangower, and yesterday numerous horsemen turned out and scoured the country for miles around, but failed to discover any traces of the beast. Very many treat the rumour as an excellent joke, but opinion it divided in this as in other things, and a large proportion are equally certain that the unwelcome visitor is in our neighbourhood.
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.)
Date: Feb 25, 1895
Page Number: 6
BENDIGO.
SATURDAY EVENING.
The Tantanoola tiger is responsible for much wagging of Dame Rumour's tongue. The fugitive beast is now reported to have been seen at Lockwood, Break-'o-Day, and Kangaroo Flat, and the descriptions given of the feline giant are as diverse as the localities where it is supposed to have been seen are wide apart.
Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, N.S.W.)
Date: Feb 25, 1895
Page Number: 2
The ubiquitous "Tantanoola tiger," which after various appearances in the south-eastern parts of South Australia was reported to have been seen near Ballarat recently, is now alleged to have been seen in the vicinity of Bendigo.
Although the hardihood of the animal in approaching so near to civilisation was ample proof of its ferocity, Mr. M'Innis, who is a
Scotchman, lately from Hong Kong, advanced at once to the attack, armed, like Chinese Gordon, with nothing but a small cane. As he
reached the edge of the terrace the visitors who accompanied him heard a low growl, and distinctly saw a great gaunt form disappearing
with a few ungainly bounds into the bush. Unfortunately the moon was obscured by clouds for the moment, so that it can never be known
beyond the possibility of contradiction by affidavit whether the creature was a werwolf, a " loup-garou," a tiger Tantanoola or otherwise,
or the animal that is known in the simple dialect of the people as a "yaller dorg." Zoological enthusiasts will always regret that
at the psychological moment that noted shikari, Mr. W. P. MacGregor, was not in attendance with his arsenal.
WOODEND, MONDAY.
For some days past there have been rumours that the dreaded Tantanoola tiger has been seen on Mount Macedon, and while people in Melbourne have been complacently theorising about the descent of starving wolves in Europe from the frost-bound passes of the Carpathians they have remained smugly unaware of the danger knocking at their own doors. Fortunately there are still men in the community who may be trusted to rise to an emergency, and Mr. W. P. MacGregor, the well known Broken Hill mining man, whose magnificent summer residence is situated on the slope of Mount Macedon that faces north- west, has taken steps to protect his hearth and home from the man-eater. Mr. MacGregor has had a pair of double express rifles sent up from Melbourne in order to be ready for the worst, and as the reports of the tiger's appearance are now flying about as thick as the hackneyed leaves in Vallombrosa, it may not be long before he has a chance of drawing a bead upon the royal game.
Credible witnesses who have seen and handled the rifles describe them as B.L.Q.-F. weapons, throwing a ball of about 1lb. weight at a high rate of velocity. They are supposed to have been manufactured for the purpose of shooting elephants, and it is stated that when fired they kick like mules.
The somewhat vague and indefinite accounts of the tiger's whereabouts were supplemented on Saturday last by a distinct statement made to Mr. Coop, of the Newham Hotel, by two gentlemen, who drove up hastily in a buggy and reported that they had just seen the creature. They stated that as they were driving along the track they saw an animal of the size and colour of a tiger lying on its side in a gutter or culvert, and busily scratching away with its claws at the earth while in this characteristically feline attitude. As they had no gun with them they did not disturb the animal; which was left scratching.
The news soon spread to Braemar-house, where there are a number of visitors staying, including many ladies, and yesterday the hope was freely expressed that Mr. W. P. MacGregor might come to tea and bring his rifle with him. Expectation ran high as night closed in, and it was remarked with satisfaction that the flull moon was just the right thing for a tiger hunt. At exactly 23 minutes to 9, Miss M. Hay, a young lady not many months out from Scotland, who is stopping at Braemar-house with her mother and sisters, ran in from the terrace in front of the house, and with commendable presence of mind reported to Mr. M'Innis, the manager, that she had seen a large yellow creature close to the place.
THE TANTANOOLA TIGER.
SAID TO HAVE REACHED MOUNT MACEDON.
A NIGHT ALARM.
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.)
Date: Mar 12, 1895
Page Number: 5
Variously known as Chinese Gordon, Gordon Pasha and Gordon of Khartoum, British Major-General Charles George Gordon was a complex
man.
Famous for his military exploits in China and Northern Africa, Gordon was also a devoted Christian who alleviated sorrow
in a small and large scale everywhere he went.
BENDIGO, MONDAY.
The Tantanoola tiger seems to be as ubiquitous as ever. It is now reported that some miners going to work on the Prince of Wales line of reef (which is situated in the bush to the westward of Eaglehawk) were alarmed by a huge animal rushing past them growling fiercely. This was at a late hour at night, as the men were to start work at 11 p.m. They arrived at the mine in a state of fright. Next morning marks of padded feet were visible, and the carcase of a goat that had been worried was found. At a locality not far distant some sheep were also worried.
ALLEGED APPEARANCE NEAR BENDIGO.
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.)
Date: Mar 12, 1895
Page Number: 5
A young man in a wild state of excitement and "concertina" leggings rushed into the Hamilton Spectator office last Wednesday night
says that journal of March 28 evidently busting with a highly sensational item. He was understood to blurt out "Tantanoola tiger,
Mount Napier-Stones." He was given a cool chair aid then settled down to a most thrilling tale.
It seemed that just after sundown yesterday evening he was riding through the stones in search of foxes, on the skins of which he hoped to claim a shire bonus. Suddenly his eye caught a flash of tawny yellow between the background, formed by a large boulder and the horizon where the last dying rays of the sun were fading out. Convinced that there was sport ahead he sent up the bunting cry "sool him" to his dogs and urged his horse forward. The dogs outpaced the horse at first, but presently they turned tail and came towards him, giving out frightened whelps and cowering in their gait with fear. That was the first time the pack had shown the white feather to anything, and more excited than ever at the prospect of seeing the biggest and most savage fox on record he pressed on.
Sure enough about 100 yards farther on there crouched a large spotted animal with head erect and cavernous mouth studded with great spiked teeth, which grinned horribly as the fox-hunter approached. The horse galloped up close to the animal before its astounded rider could draw rein, but a ferocious growl brought him to himself and just as the animal—which he says could have been none other than the Tantanoola tiger was preparing for a spring he turned and fled. One fearful glance behind showed the tiger coming with huge bounds on his track and then he rode for dear life and soon distanced the savage man-eater.
This was the young man's tale and it must be regarded as the most authentic and detailed description of the tiger yet obtained. The news reached us rather late last night, but we understand that the local Rifle Club will meet this morning and consider the advisability of making a call to arms and sallying forth in search of the enemy. Sergeant-Major Baker will also no doubt issue peremptory instructions to the H Company to sold themselves in readiness for marching orders, and we understand that the mayor will instruct Mr. James to have the large gun in the gardens placed on wheels. A cordon of infantry will probably be drawn round the stones, flanked by the Borough artillery, while cavalry in the shape of the mounted rifles will enter the circle and reconnoitre. With such a force it is impossible that the animal can escape, and the Tantanoola tiger will undoubtedly at last be taken—dead or alive.
THE TANTANOOLA "TIGER."
The Advertiser (Adelaide, S.A.)
Date: Apr 5, 1895
Page Number: 6
The Tantanoola Racing Club have arranged for holding a race meeting on Friday, May 24, when a programme of seven events will be carried oat. If the tiger could be present it would give eclat to the affair. The Tiger Handicap of six furlongs is included on the card.
The Advertiser (Adelaide, S.A.)
Date: Apr 25, 1895
Page Number: 7
"The tiger has come to light again. Mr. R.T. White, while clearing Buchan's Creek, between the properties of Messrs. Beaton Bros., heard the animal growl at him in the ti-tree close to the drain. He says the growl lasted for about ten minutes and appeared as if the animal had some prey and was aware of an enemy being near. He is sure the growl could have been heard a quarter of a mile away. Mr. White took the precaution to have his rifle with him after that, and is pretty certain that he would have driven a bullet through the animal had it come out of the ti-tree.
"A rather strange coincidence took place over this. Mrs. White, who has not been very well, was having her afternoon nap and dreamt that her husband had had an encounter with the tiger, the time she dreamt and the time of the growl being simultaneous. The place contains about 50 acres of dense ti-tree and any wild animal could easily take shelter there and escape detection, as food would be so easily obtained from the surrounding flocks. Mr. White is a very reliable man and nobody can have reason to doubt his word."
THE TANTANOOLA TIGER.
The Advertiser (Adelaide, S.A.)
Date: May 17, 1895
Page Number: 5
The Tantanoola correspondent of the Border Watch, writing on May 14, says:—
The people of Tantanoola are evidently proud of the importance given to the district by the supposed presence of the much-adver tised
tiger. A race meeting was held there yesterday and one of the events on the card was "The Tiger Handicap.' A dividend of £1
12s. was returned to the backers of the winner of the handicap, but it seems problematic whether any dividend will ever be received
by those who have expended time and money in the search for the original.
The Advertiser (Adelaide, S.A.)
Date: May 25, 1895
Page Number:
5
NATHALIA, Tuesday.
A strange animal resembling the Tantanoola tiger was seen in the neighbourhood of Nathalia a few nights ago. As one of the farmers in the district was returning home an animal whose roar resembled that of a lion crossed the road in front of him. The following night the same appalling sounds were heard by another man, who sought shelter in a friend's house close by. Other people have since distinctly heard the roars of the furious beast A great impression has been made on the minds of the young folk of the district.
REAPPEARANCE OF THE TANTANOOLA TIGER.
The Argus (Melbourne, Vic.)
Date: Jul 3, 1895
Page Number: 6
Tiger Handicap Results:
1st Rich Peer
2nd BrightFix
3rd Fox's Mora