Tantanoola Tiger (1923)

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The Mail (Adelaide, SA : 1912 - 1954), Saturday 6 October 1923, page 10

National Library of Australia http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article63784291

TERROR OF THE TI-TREE SCRUB

Taiitanoola Tiger Reminiscences

SIDEUGHTS ON A FAMOUS CASE

'Tantanoola!' Tantanoola!' Leisurely

the narraw gauge train wheezes into a

t)T)ical cbuntry railway station. The so

phisticated tourist- rouses Jnhnself from

his magazine long enough to poke his head

through the window of.

the 'carriage and

enquire facetiously, 'Where's ..the 'tiger?

- The last thing hi the 'world that he really

expects to see isa, striped jungle cat ca

vorting on the town;1

commonage, but

nevertheless he has hV Jittle joke. He

? is not altogether disappointed, however,

as staring him in the face he can see 'The

Tiger Hotel,' and on the top of the

building, brazenly, waving his tail in the

breeze, a replica in iron of the famous

animal itself.

A sheep-dip advertisement of a plump

Merino draws the traveller's attention to

a noted partiality of Tantanoola's famous

'tiger.' With a yawn he goes back to

his magazine. Little 'does1' he know thatin his boredom he is turning his back

upon a relic -of one of the most famous

criminal cases in the history of Austra

lian crime.

Thirty yean ago rumors began to filter'

through to Adelaide from the SouthEast

ern districts of the State of the depredations of a mysterious animal among the

sheep flocks of South-Eastern squatters.

The beast, it was claimed, had bis lair

among the ti-tree scrub about seven miles

from the.small township hi Tantanoola.

j Fleeting visions of this local bunyip had

been obtained ,but missing sheep provided'

additional evidence in support of the?

theory.

Rumors and exaggerated reports piled

?

one on top of the other, and a reign of

terror prevailed at Tantanoola. Doors

were kept 'barred at night, and the ti-tree

scrub was given a wide berth. The tiger's

fame spread until he was recognised all

over the Commonwealth. He put Tanta:

noola on the map.

Several years after the scare had origi

, nated, a South-Eastern sportsman shot a

la-ê Russian wolf, and the news spread



la-ê Russian wolf, and the news spread

over the countryside that at last the mys

tery was solved. A popular theory was

that the wolf had been washed toff apass

ing vessel, and had swum ashore and

established himself among, the ti-tree at

Tantanoola. Prom the security of this

almost impregnable jungle he had waged. war on the sheep flocks of the district.

Still Sheep Disappeared

The Tantanaola tiger was dead!- Thekilling of the woItSku, at the time', theeensatipii. o£ the Hour; ?^nd the definite

solving of the mystery seBmed to %avebeen accomplished. But still sheep dis

appeared at Tantanoola; men still swore

that they had obtained glimpses of the

m

tiger, and the tales of his proportions and

peculiarities became larger and more fantastic. One man in particular was em

phatic and unswerving in his stories of

the existence of the mysterious animal

that hauntedthe

ti-treescrub.This individual was a sort of jack-of:all

trades of the town, and it was he who

was responsible for the iron effigy - of'The Tiger' which still adorns the hotel

bearing that name. Largely through his

stories the tiger scare continued. The

?world at large scoffed at at a fairy tale,

but still the mystery remained and the titree scrub, with its dense twining growthof sarsaoarilla bush, remained also a

place to be avoided.'

So the years went by. Sheep disappeared with monotonous regularity, but

eventually the townspeople became partly

reconciledto

thetiger.

But, wheneverthe interest in its deeds began to flag, the

.signmaker was ever ready to fan the

waning flame of public interest. The.occupancy of a rabbit trapping camp inthe vicinity of the scrub game him sufficient standing to air his views- 'I saw

/ -that blame tiger again today,' he wouldBay, and straight away the town would beagog.

Early in January, 1011, three local

sportsmen set out upon a snipe-skootin»expedition. While in the vicinity of thedreaded ti-tree scrub one of the party shota snipe, and the wounded bir^. fell amon*

the dense underbrush. Approaching thejungle, the sportsman was almost over

come by an overpowering slench. A

dead bullock and the decomposing bodyof a pony lay on the edge of the scrub,and were apparently accountable for theevil odor.

Pushing hia way through the almostimpassable barrier of ti-tree nd undergrowth, the enthusistic snipe huntertound that as he progressed the smell gotsteadily worse. Blindly groping his way

through a mass of tangled vegetaton, hesuddenly burst into a

suddenly burst into a narrow winding lane.

Obviously human hands had cleared thistrack. Following the lane, he finally

emerged into a large clearing. The scene

that met his startled gaze left him speechless with horror. Rotting carcases ofirtieep lay around the ground, and putridtilth was ankle deep all over the enclo8!£.e-JGleaming skuUs and bleached bones

added to the ghastly effect. The stenchwas frightful. Undeterred, the investigator continued on his way. Anotherlarge yard was discovered, and in it no

less than 42 carcases lay piles one ontop of the other. ?

White-faced and trembling with ex

citement, the astounded snipe hunteri.

rushed back to his companions. In anhour Tantanoola was agog with a newsensation. The news flashed across

the wires to all parts of Australia, andthe famous tiger was once more on

everybody's lips.Dragrloads of sight

seers came from miles around to view

the discovery.

Uncovered the Tiger's Lair

?A fluke had uncovered the tiger's lair.

'Where and who was the tiger? That)was the problem. An examination of;his stronghold showed that the autho-'rities were pitted against diabolical eun-jning. The corifetruction of the yards,ajid passages must have occupied years,

j

and showed that the game had' been

going on for a long- time.

The entrance passage, the narrow

?winding lane upon which the snipehunter had stumbled, had been!

strengthened with wire netting etoler.from a neighboring squatter's fence.This same squatter was one of the

heaviest sufferers as regards lost hheep.One thing was obvious. Only a droverof exceptional ability could haveworked sheep through the small aper

ture, which formed the entrance to the

killing pens. Experts considered this

a big task for three or four men with

trained dogs.

Every detail and precaution against'

discovery had heen performed with1

masterly care and cunning. The bul'lock and pony, Jeft to rot, at prominent

pointson the

edge of the scrub,had been shot by the tiger and dragged!into position to explain away the awful'

stench. Dummy trees, planted at the

entrance of the latorynth, eifectively

cloaked all evidence' of anything un

toward within. The tiger evidently be

lieved his stronghold impregnable. He

had even commenced the construction

of a shearing shed with the idea, of ex

tending his nefarious operations.

The tiger myth was now definitely ex



The tiger myth was now ex

ploded. As day followed day, however,

and no arrest was made, it appeared as

if 'the perpetrator of mis collossal im

positoin would go unscathed.. Now a.

disreputable swagman, a rouseabout,

who. stated that he had just 'nnished

up' at a neighboring station, appeared

in the township. lie soon became the

butt for the jokers of the place, and

they dubbed Sam Mohr's brother. Sam

Mohr was the proprietor of the hotel.

This invidual haunted the percincts

of the bar, where he displayed amazing

simplicity and. good-humored tolerance

at the jokes that were levelled at his

head. The signmaker became one of

his cronies. One night .about a. week

after the discovery of the secret

slaughter yards, these two worthies

were engaged in a friendly game of bil

liards. 'They tell me,' said the sign

maker, as he chalked his cue, 'that

they are hot on the tiger's trail.'

'There are are four detectives on the

Adelaide train and one over at the

store.' 'I hope they catch the flamin'

cow,' he concluded. 'So do I,' San*Mohr's brother agreed, as he pushed

the scoring pegs along.

The next night a buckjumping show

reached the town, and people came from

miles around, and, as is the wont In

country places, thronged the hotel.

Just about 8 o'clock the old rouseabout

beckoned his new-found pal out of the

biliard-room into the parlor. With

visions of a convivial drink, the signmaker accepted the invitation with

alacrity. A crestfallen and sullen

signmaker emerged from the partor a

few minutes afterwards, handcuffed

and speechless with surprise. A storm

of laughter greeted the worthy pair at

first, but gradually it dawned upon the

onlookers that this was grim reality.

Sam Mohr's brother was none other

than Detective Allchurch, of the .Ade

laide police. And the signmaker? Well,

the signmaker had erected his own

sign. The Tantanoola tiger stood.

re

vealed.,

The crowd surged around the detec

tive and his prisoner, and that- night

the buckjumping show (played to an

empty house.?

And: yet the tiger was not cageflL At

bay, yes, but not behind prisoriing'bars.

The net was closing' around him, and

twist and wriggle and snarl as he

would he 'was powerless to stay the in

evitable. One slip was* destined to cost

him his liberty. When the discovery

of the hidden slaughter yards took place

the sign maker was on on of his priodic rabbit trapping jaunts. His campwas situated not far from the scrub.

Suspicion immediately pointed in his

direction. As soon as he heard.- the

direction. As soon as he heard.- the

news he visited his camp at midnight

and burnt all the evidence he could lay

his hands on. and then forsook the

camp for the comparative safety of the

township.

Piece of Crumpled Paper

The.

detective paid 0. surreptitious

visit pi, the cair-p: and in^liigated a

thorough search. He was 'o&rrSlie point

of abandoning the hunt,'. I/when,?he

noticed a small niece of crumpled piperhalf |(idden in the sand; This aprpvedto be' a ; consignment note f opt sheepskins', an*I was dropped

'

bjH tbj§- tigeras he carried the^notos to bis 3riidrf£giit'

fire. Upbh this tiny scrap $t p&per vie

whol£ ttend of the evidence riiinged. Thedestination of the skiriavwas easily

traeed, and it was a simple înatter to

prove that the tiger wsfs the person

who had received the cheque for this

particular parcel of goods,.

Two pairs of, patched J|r.ol«-kin trou

,-ers had in the meantime been un

ernthed at the pi*i:s. A pieee of moleskinfn,m which . patches had been cut w;as

d.bcoversd at the* sign milker's'

camp,

? 1v patcht-3 cn!th«- trousers fitted tbe

holes in Ihis pieec of cloth. These pants

were found to be the property of- a' farm?|-i.-.rid.

Confronted v.'itii them, he stoutty

d«-ned all knowledge of the pants' or -of

the crime. Tighter, tighter, and- yet

tighter the- net closed. At last the farm

l:and broke down and confessed. ,His

confession threw the spotlight full upon

the master criminal. The desperate

nature of his character was revealed.

Itwas the

accomplice'stask to skin

tfte sheep while the tiger sat. rifle, in

hand, at the mouth of his, den. By

God's will no luckless prowler had been

unfortunate enough to stumble across

tbe monster's lair.

And so they too« the tiger and placed

him where the shadows of the prisonbars threw dingy shades across his

tawny coat. The nameless terror which

hung over the ti-tree was no more.

Nowadays the tiger is but a memory,

and maybe the doting South-Eastern

matron croons over her unruly offspring

a 3 she tucked them in for the night.'Husbl hush! or the tiger will get you.'

Documents

Tantanoola Tiger (1923)