hunting

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

Who were Australia's original crocodile hunters? By Bridget Judd Updated 17 Jul 2018, 12:54pm Crocodile hunting in the Top End was first pioneered by Indigenous Australians, but it's the beer-swilling, knife-wielding macho men of the Northern Territory whose presence has been etched into popular culture. So just who were these daredevils that would come to typify outback Australia? And what happened to them? "I've never been to the NT, but being a keen hunter and experienced bushman, I loved Keith Willey's book Crocodile Hunt from the moment I rescued it from the library throw-out bin," says Curious Darwin questioner Anthony Story. The book tells the tale of the old-school Top End crocodile hunters, documented in the swamp plains of the South Alligator River, bordering Arnhem Land. Willey teamed up with Bill Dean, a professional crocodile shooter, and together, they explore what life was really like on the buffalo plains. The croc-hunting industry really rose to notoriety in the 1950s and 60s, around the time Willey's book was written and published when scores of hunters made their way to the Top End in search of a quick buck. A group of men pull aboard two crocodiles in the Daly River in 1934. PHOTO: Hunters haul in crocodiles along the Daly River. (Supplied: Territory Stories) Tracking down these old timers poses its challenges. Many safari hunting camps went bust when crocodile hunting was outlawed in the NT in 1971, after the animals were hunted almost to extinction, and most — if not all — of the old-school hunters have since passed away. Source: www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1UEAD_en-gbAU966AU966&sxs....

This is the old Stone/Lessard hunting camp featured in several old family photos. The man on the right is my maternal great-grandfather, James Hawley Stone. The man on the left appears to be his only brother, Wesley Stone who later emigrated to the Oneida area in upstate New York.

Thank you Jackie!