rockhampton

It's funny... as an Aussie, I've never really thought of crocodiles as predators! That makes no sense, obviously... I mean, LOOK AT IT!

Big Ben laid at a truly frightening 22 feet and 6 inches (6.8 meters) and ruled Alligator Creek in Yaamba nearly 150 years ago.

While his age is unknown, he was a figure of legend amongst the area's indigenous people who claimed he was a man-eater.

Big Ben was more than a normal crocodile, described at the time as the last of his species, notable for having a different, more vicious jaw structure than a normal croc.

His front teeth in the lower jaw fitted into holes in his upper jaw creating an unescapable lock for whatever poor creature he bit.

In 1872, a hunter named Goldino Columbo shot Big Ben in the head while out on the river but was unable to finish the job or capture him.

The monstrous reptile's body was later found washed up on the shore by none other than John William Wilson.

Rocky locals will know Wilson as the architect responsible for designing 200 buildings in the region including the Heritage Hotel and the Queensland National Hotel in Mount Morgan.

Big Ben's appearance was so frightful Wilson didn't dare get close, and only returned several days later to find him truly dead.

When he was brought back to town and had his guts opened they found 101 kilograms of quartz, a collection of human bones, and two other smaller crocodiles.

Big Ben's body was stuffed and paraded around Queensland and New South Wales with a collection of other, albeit smaller, crocodiles, also killed by Columbo a few months later.

It's clear that CQ has never had a shortage of overgrown reptiles, not 100 years ago, and not today.

Source:
www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/rockhampton/meet-b...

I supplied that information to the Morning Bulletin Rockhampton, which i uncovered 16 yrs ago...i have alot more info on Big Ben..including a photo on the taxidermy table with the skull & bones of two humans beside him...the backbone of a bulloch, and numerous large stones, all removed from his belly.

www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/rockhampton/the-de...

CHURCH OF ENGLAND RECORDS ARCHDEACONS G.M.L. Lester (Mitchell) 1893 G.D. Halford (Mitchell) 1899 G.H. Rogers (Rockhampton) 1903 A.Lee Kenny (Rockhampton) 1907 James Norman (Emeritus) 1930 A.T. Robinson (Rockhampton) 1931 R.B.Davison (Rockhampton) 1937 S.J. Mathews (Rockhampton) 1940 Arthur Fellows (Rockhampton) 1954 J.B.R. Grindrod (without jurisdiction) 1969 C.E. Torlach (Rockhampton) 1961 Rodney Murphy (of the East) 1965 ??? (of the West) 1965 Source: sites.google.com/site/cqfamilyhistory/articles-indexes/hi... I am not exactly that this is connected with the photo but it could be.

They have the same look.

A beautiful image. Fascinating but sad history. -- Seen in my contacts' photos. (?)

the historical pictures are fantastic

I Looked at and read this set of panoramas Thanks

I grew up on the sister station to Fitzroy Vale in the late sixties and early seventies. Amazing to see this historical photo of a place I visited often.