crocodilians

Crocodiles have long been hunted by Aboriginal people for their meat, but the danger associated with the hunt meant that human beings did not have an impact on crocodile population numbers before the late 1940s. In the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, European settlers in the north killed crocodiles, but no systematic hunting occurred. Hunting was opportunistic and individual crocodiles were killed by locals fearful for their safety, by visitors in search of novelty, and by rural workers when an opportunity offered itself. The crocodile population as a whole was not affected. Australian commercial crocodile hunting dates from the 1930s but at this stage it generally involved the employment of Aboriginal people to supply crocodile skins using traditional hunting methods. A range of different types of crocodile hunting developed during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s in Queensland. Commercial hunters killed crocodiles and efficiently retrieved their skins which were sold to dealers in Cairns. In the wake of the war, there were many men (and some women) familiar with firearms, eager for adventure, and unwilling to settle down into suburban life. Crocodile hunting was a dangerous business, but this group of hunters was effective and caused a significant decline in crocodile numbers across northern Australia. Cairns became a center for skin dealers who acted as middlemen between the hunters and overseas buyers. The lure of adventure brought less commercially-focused hunters north as well. Melbourne hairdresser Rene Henri founded the Australian Crocodile Shooters’ Club in 1950. The Club aimed to help tourists, particularly from New South Wales and Victoria, experience crocodile hunting in North Queensland. At first, the Club promoted safari cruises along with Cape York in the Tropic Seas (a boat captained by Vince Vlasoff) but in 1952 the Club expanded its operations by establishing a permanent base at Karumba in the Gulf of Carpentaria which is named the Gulf Country Club. Australian Crocodile Shooters’ Club members traveled to North Queensland to experience a luxurious hunting experience rather than to kill crocodiles in commercial quantities. The third group of hunters also came north. This group styled themselves professional hunters but were really on a type of working holiday. They sought adventure without the cost of a complete safari experience, attempted to pay their way by killing and skinning crocodiles, and generally did no better than break even financially. They killed many crocodiles but did not always manage to secure commercially valuable skins. Source: www.qhatlas.com.au/crocodile-hunting

Dulice Campbell, with two crocodiles at Sunday Gully, North Queensland, c1950. While crocodile hunting was widely perceived as adventurous, dangerous, and macho some women participated. The crocodiles shown here are of the freshwater variety. Source: www.qhatlas.com.au/photograph/dulcie-campbell-crocodile-h...

I am not sure if the following story is related to the photo, yet it seems interesting: A tale about a monster crocodile, that would be the biggest in history is true, claims a pensioner whose late father told him stories of seeing the beast. Doubt has long surrounded claims a 9.7-metre croc - a world record - was shot dead as it lay on the banks of a river at Mackay, in north Queensland, in the 1880s. But Greg Ellul claims his late father Joe told him stories of paying sixpence to go with his grandfather to see the dead croc's skin hanging in a pub in the 1920s or 1930s. According to reports, the reptile was shot with a high-powered rifle from the balcony of the Leichardt Hotel, which overlooked the Pioneer River. Mr Ellul, who is now 70, says his father would often recall going to view the massive skin stretched across the pub. 'Grandad took Pop to see it one day and it cost them a sixpence,' Mr Elull told Daily Mail Australia. 'He said it was 33ft and when they went into the pub the skin was right across a wall and the tail stretched onto another wall. 'His father took him to go and see it and he used to tell me it was shot in the Pioneer River on a sandbar at low tide from the Leichardt Hotel.' A black and white photo of a massive beast lying dead on the banks of the river with rope around its mouth resurfaced earlier this year. Source: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5173771/Monster-crocodil...