Dear Monument Australia visitors, we are a self-funded, non-profit organisation, dedicated to recording monuments throughout Australia. Over time the costs of maintaining this website have risen substantially (in fact they are probably larger than those of many companies who exist for profit). In the past we have borne all the costs associated with maintaining the website but we are now having difficulties in paying the monthly expenses.
If Monument Australia is useful to you, please make a donation to keep this historical and educational resource available. Your help would be greatly appreciated.
Centenary of Tantanoola Tiger ShootingPrint Page 
The monument commemorates the centenary of the Tantanoola tiger shooting in 1895.
In 1884 near Tantanoola in South Australia's south east a Bengal tiger supposedly escaped from a travelling circus. A search was mounted, but the tiger was never found. Over the next few years, there were many reports of missing sheep in the area and some suggested that the sheep had become the prey of the missing tiger.
Eleven years after the tiger went missing a local man, Tom Donovan, saw what he thought was the Bengal tiger in a paddock with a sheep in its jaws. He took a shot at it with his gun and shot the animal in the side. As it turns out, it was not a Bengal tiger, but a Eurasian wolf - equally out of place in the Australian environment. It is thought that the wolf was a stowaway on a boat that was shipwrecked off the coast, but managed to make it to the shore.
The wolf was stuffed and is now on display at the Tantanoola Hotel. For fifteen years after the shooting of the wolf, however, sheep continued to go missing from the area. A policeman from Adelaide eventually went to investigate and arrested a local man for sheep stealing.
Location
| Address: | Railway Terrace East, Tantanoola, 5280 |
|---|---|
| State: | SA |
| Area: | AUS |
| GPS Coordinates: | Lat: -37.696778 Long: 140.455906 Note: GPS Coordinates are approximate. |
Details
| Monument Type: | Monument |
|---|---|
| Monument Theme: | Culture |
| Sub-Theme: | Community |
| Actual Event Start Date: | 23-August-1895 |
| Actual Event End Date: | 23-August-1995 |
Dedication
| Actual Monument Dedication Date: | Sunday 1st October, 1995 |
|---|
Centenary of Tantanoola Tiger Shooting
Aug 23rd 1895 - Aug 23rd 1995
Unveiled 1st Oct 1995 by the Hon. Des Corcoran A. O. J. P.
