Tantanoola

The small town of Tantanoola is known for the Tantanoola Tiger, a phantom cat which supposedly stalked the area during the late nineteenth century. Many believed it to be the now extinct Tasmanian Tiger.

Where is it?: South East. 10 km south of Millicent on Princes Highway.




Tantanoola Cave

Tantanoola Cave: located 16 km from Millicent, Tantanoola Cave may be the only cave in Australia which claims to have wheelchair access. It is a single cave which has been formed in an ancient coastal cliff. It is notable for its excellent columns, shawls and helictites. The cave was first discovered by Boyce Lane in 1930 and since then has been a popular local attraction.



Tantanoola Cave

The Tantanoola Tiger

The small town of Tantanoola is known for the Tantanoola Tiger, a phantom cat which supposedly stalked the area during the late nineteenth century. Many believed it to be the now extinct Tasmanian Tiger. In August 1895 an animal was shot by one Thomas John Donovan, which was believed to have been the mysterious predator. The animal turned out to be more like a wolf than a cat.

Later it was determined to be an Assyrian wolf, although how it arrived in South Australia has been the subject of a number of theories. It is currently preserved and on display at the Tantanoola Hotel (which is also known colloquially as the 'Tantanoola Tiger Hotel'). Tantanoola Caves Conservation Park, featuring a spectacular dolomite cave, is located nearby.

Trying to establish the correct dates and the actual facts surrounding the Tantanoola tiger is almost impossible. No two versions are the same although there is a kind of central germ of truth. Where there are more than one possible date I have simply listed them all with question marks.

It is claimed that the first sighting of the Tantanoola tiger occurred in (1883? 1889? 1895?) when a young man riding near Tantanoola claimed he saw a large shaggy animal leap over a fence with a sheep in its jaws. (Or was it because two tigers escaped from a travelling circus?) This led to hysteria in the local area. Children were escorted to school by men with guns. People refused to leave their homes at night. Loaded shotguns were carried by virtually everyone. Eventually a local bushman, Tom Donovan, assisted by three other men, managed to shoot a large wild dog (an Assyrian wolf?) was shot in 1895. It was given to the Tantanoola Hotel which had it stuffed and declared that it was the Tantanoola tiger. It is claimed that in 1911 Robert Edmondson and David Bald were arrested for stealing and killing sheep and that this was the real resolution to the problem. Not a tiger/wolf/dog but some canny men. Who really knows?

Tom Donovan had the animal stuffed and kept it in a private museum in Nelson. In 1905 it was placed in a glass case and put on display in the Railway Hotel which changed its name to the Tantanoola Tiger Hotel.

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