A Living Ghost: Tasmanian Thylacines, 1930-1936

Ken Willoughby specimen bought by Wynyard animal dealer James Harrison for 50/- (i.e. 50 shillings).

The thylacine fought with the Willougby's dog before Ken pinned its head to the ground with a forked tree branch and stuffed it into a bag tail-first. Thereafter it survived only a day or two in a cage.

Guiler, Eric Rowland. (1985). Thylacine: The tragedy of the Tasmanian Tiger. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Guiler, Eric Rowland. (1986). The Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart. Papers and Proceedings of the Tasmanian Historical Research Association 33(4): 121-171.

Linnard, Gareth, Williams, Mike and Holmes, Branden. (2020). The parson, the psychiatrist, the publican, and his nephews: the two final thylacine captures in Tasmania. Papers and Proceedings: Tasmanian Historical Research Association 67(3): 6-22. [Abstract]

Presumably the Wilfred "Wilf" Batty specimen (see below). Several incidents involving a "hyena" scaring children, raiding poultry pens, stealing food from encamped men etc.

The events involving this thylacine may stretch back to April. This depends upon both the date on which Batty shot the animal (6 May vs 13 May), and whether these events began about "two or three weeks" before he shot the animal (quote from McIntyre interview, 1955; see entry below).

Brass, Ken. (1980). The $55,000 search to find a Tasmanian tiger. The Australian Women’s Weekly, 24 September, pp. 40-41.

The Examiner 1/5/2005

McIntyre, D. (1955). Tasmanian Tiger captured at Mawbanna during 1930. Police Report, filed 20 August 1955.

Sleightholme, Stephen R. and Campbell, Cameron R. (2016). A retrospective assessment of 20th century thylacine populations. Australian Zoologist 38(1): 102-129. [they contradict themselves by accepting 13 May in the main text, but then go with 6 May in the Appendix]

The Thylacine Museum website

The Wilf Batty specimen. The family (Wilfred "Wilf" Batty, his father William P. Batty, his mother, his sister and his brother Tom) were getting ready to sit down for their mid-day meal on a Tuesday at the family farm.

His sister spotted the animal through a window in the house when it was at the poultry shed about a "chain" away.

Shot in its left shoulder by Wilfred "Wilf" Batty with a double-barrelled shotgun. It took either about 20 minutes (Brass, 1980) or about 30 minutes to die (according to Wilf, taken from the McIntyre interview by [Beresford & Bailey, 1981:25]).

Almost certainly the specimen responsible for the several incidents listed in the entry above as they were so rare by this time.

Contemporary account:

Anonymous. (1930). Hyena Killed at Mawbanna. The Advocate, Wednesday, May 14, p. 6.

Interviews with Wilfred "Wilf" Batty:

1. D. McIntyre, inspector with the Animals and Birds Protection Board, conducted an interview with Wilf (and George Cooper) during 1955, sometime prior to 20 August. Beresford & Bailey (1981) quote McIntyre's unpublished account at length:

McIntyre, D. (1955). Tasmanian Tiger captured at Mawbanna during 1930. Police Report, filed 20 August 1955.

2. Interview conducted by Peter Thompson in 1974:

3. Brass, Ken. (1980). The $55,000 search to find a Tasmanian tiger. The Australian Women’s Weekly, 24 September, pp. 40-41.

4. Interview conducted by a Television New Zealand journalist in the 1980's (probably late 1980's; Wilf died in 1989), with the footage reused in the 1996 documentary "The Tasmanian Tiger. The Definitive Documentary" by Craig Wellington (Martin Banks, pers. comm. 27 June, 2018).

The photographs:

There are five known photographs taken of the animal. One has only just been discovered by archivist Gareth Linnard at Cradle Mt Lodge on 10 September 2019. And one was relatively recently (re)discovered and sold for $9775 (Anonymous, 2015).

The most likely origin of these is that the first three, showing the animal on a small rocky pile (two while the animal was still alive), were taken by a local. While the two 'trophy' photos were taken the next day by Pat O'Halloran using George Cooper's camera.

This is because a) that is Cooper's recollection in 1955 (McIntyre, 1955), b) logistically O'Halloran almost certainly couldn't have made the journey from Stanley to Mawbanna within the 20-30 minutes that the animal remained alive after being shot, c) Martin Banks points out the differing quality of the two pairs of photos, indicating two photographers, d) somebody more local than Stanley must have taken the 'alive' photo

Anonymous. (2015). "Last known photograph of thylacine sold at auction". The Advocate, 11 December.

Beresford, Quentin and Bailey, Gary. (1981). Search for the Tasmanian Tiger. Hobart, Tasmania: Blubber Head Press. 54 pp. [pp. 22-25]

Brown, Robert ("Bob"). (1973). Has the thylacine really vanished? Animals 15(9): 416-419.

Sleightholme, Stephen R. and Campbell, Cameron R. (2016). A retrospective assessment of 20th century thylacine populations. Australian Zoologist 38(1): 102-129. [they contradict themselves by accepting 13 May in the main text, but then go with 6 May in the Appendix]

The Wilfred "Wilf" Batty specimen shot in the Mawbanna district. Purchased by Wynyard animal dealer James Harrison from Batty.

The personal recollection of Ray 'Turk' Porteous' wife "many years after the event" (cited by the TM website).

Examiner 1/5/2005

The Thylacine Museum website

The two Wilf Batty trophy photos, taken holding his shotgun with his dog by his side.

Cooper's recollection is that he sent O'Halloran to the property the day after the animal was shot, having been alerted to the killing that morning after.

The Wilfred "Wilf" Batty specimen shot in the Mawbanna district. Purchased by Wynyard animal dealer James Harrison from Batty. Later sold by Harrison to the Tasmanian Museum according to Batty.

The exact date of the purchase by Harrison is unknown. The memory of 'Turk' Porteous' wife (see above) may be correct but there is too great a chance the date is incorrect to accept it. Hence I have gone with the more conservation date range of May 1930.

Discrepancy over price paid to Batty:

£4?

D. McIntyre, inspector with the Animals and Birds Protection Board, interviewed Batty in 1955 (McIntyre, 1955). The latter stated that Harrison paid him £4 for the carcass (Ibid.; Beresford & Bailey, 1981)

£5?

Wilf Batty stated that Harrison paid him £5 in an interview with (or recorded by) Ken Brass (Brass, 1980).

Brass, Ken. (1980). The $55,000 search to find a Tasmanian tiger. The Australian Women’s Weekly, 24 September, pp. 40-41.

Examiner 1/5/2005 [states that Harrison paid £5]

McIntyre, D. (1955). Tasmanian Tiger captured at Mawbanna during 1930. Police Report, filed 20 August 1955.

Death of the last specimen received by the zoo (male). One or more specimens might have survived longer at the zoo, see "1931/32" entry below.

Caught by Adye¹ Jordan in 1929.

₁ Pronounced 'Adair'

Paddle, Robert. (2012). The thylacine's last straw: epidemic disease in a recent mammalian extinction. Australian Zoologist 36(1): 75-92.

Thylacine Museum website

Anonymous. (1930a). Rare Catch (Waratah.). The Advocate (Burnie, Tas.), Monday, 11 August, p. 6.

Anonymous. (1930b). World's Oldest Animal (Notes of the Day). The Mercury, Friday, 17 October, p. 8.

One of the two thylacines displayed by the Delphin Brothers (Dan and Roy) at the Burnie Show in a tent. One would later be purchased by the Beaumaris Zoo, and is almost certainly the animal that died on the evening of 7 September 1936.

The recollection of Margaret Breaden in around 1995-2000 is that the Delphin brothers had two thylacines on display in the tent.

Advertisements for the Burnie Show, including the thylacine display:

Anonymous. (1930). Tasmanian Tiger. Advocate (Tasmania), Tuesday, 23 September, p. 7 |7|.

Anonymous. (1930). Tasmanian Tiger. Advocate (Tasmania), Thursday, 25 September, p. 7 |7|.

Anonymous. (1930). Tasmanian Tiger. Advocate (Tasmania), Saturday, 27 September, p. 13 |7|.

Recollection of Margaret Breaden:

Original audio recorded by ABC Radio's Chris Wisbey, as part of the Tiger Tales (c.1995-2000). Re-aired on 10 September 2019 on ABC Radio Hobart's Evenings program with Paul McIntyre, during an interview with Welsh thylacine expert Gareth Linnard. The audio was saved for posterity by well known Australian cryptozoologist Mike Williams, and is available on his YouTube channel:

Linnard, Gareth, Williams, Mike and Holmes, Branden. (2020). The parson, the psychiatrist, the publican, and his nephews: the two final thylacine captures in Tasmania. Papers and Proceedings: Tasmanian Historical Research Association 67(3): 6-22. [Abstract]

Thylacine Museum website

Sex unknown. Snared by Wynyard based animal dealer James Harrison and a friend, in the Tarkine area south of Burnie in 1931. Broke a leg while in the snare, which was later fixed by a doctor friend of Harrison's.

This is probably a faulty memory of the Chester and Hope specimen caught in 1928 (see here)

Sex unknown, James Harrison specimen (listed directly above). After the broken leg healed, Harrison "presented it" (would have been bought) to the Beaumaris Zoo (Queen's Domain location), also in 1931. Said to have been "Benjamin" who survived until September 7, 1936.

This is probably a faulty memory of the Chester and Hope specimen caught in 1928 (see here)

Linnard, Gareth, Williams, Mike and Holmes, Branden. (2020). The parson, the psychiatrist, the publican, and his nephews: the two final thylacine captures in Tasmania. Papers and Proceedings: Tasmanian Historical Research Association 67(3): 6-22. [Abstract]

Sleightholme, Stephen R., Gordon, Tammy J. and Campbell, Cameron R. (2020). The Kaine capture - questioning the history of the last Thylacine in captivity. Australian Zoologist 41(1): 1-11. [Abstract]

The Thylacine Museum website

Death of adult female at London Zoo. Last known captive specimen outside of Australia. On display since 26 January 1926 (Anonymous, 1926).

A true survivor, having been waiting at sea for roughly 6 months due to a dock strike. Journeyed with another female who died while anchored at sea waiting for the strike to be over.

Beaumaris Zoo swapped George Bruce Chapman an elephant for the pair of females. Surviving female was then purchased from Bruce Chapman by London Zoo for £150.

Theories on identity:

Almost certainly captured between 1923-25 (probably two of the pups of either the Walter "Jack" Mullins or Elias Churchill captures (both adult female with three pups)). Mullins capture date is June 1923, Churchill capture 1924 or 1925; hence probably capture date of 1923-25.

Arthur Murray's 1925 specimen caught at Tyenna, sold to Beaumaris Zoo on 21 July of the same year, has also been suggested as a possible source for the specimen).

Another possibility (raised by the Thylacine Museum website) is that Beaumaris Zoo bought two female specimens from Wynyard animal dealer James Harrison for £46.5/-, and these are the London animals (see Guiler, 1986:155).

Anonymous. (1926). Tasmanian "Tiger". Arrival at London Zoo. Advocate (Burnie, Tas.: 1890-1954), Thursday 28 January 1926, p. 3. [pp. 8?]

Guiler, Eric Rowland. (1986). The Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart. Papers and Proceedings of the Tasmanian Historical Research Association 33(4): 121-171.

Royal Melbourne Zoo. (1931). The Royal Zoological and Acclimatisation Society of Victoria. Sixty-seventh Annual Report and Report of Annual Meeting of the Society for the Year 1930. Melbourne: G.A. Sherman.

Royal Melbourne Zoo. (1932). The Royal Zoological and Acclimatisation Society of Victoria. Sixty-eighth Annual Report and Report of Annual Meeting of the Society for the Year 1931. Melbourne: G.A. Sherman.

Wynyard Beach carcass.

"Eric Sargent discovered a thylacine washed ashore in 1933, when he was five years old." (Maynard & Gordon, 2014:91)

His father suggested that it might have been one of James Harrison's tigers, however there are no records to suggest that Harrison dealt in thylacines beyond 1930 when he allegedly sold the Mawbanna specimen to the Tasmanian Museum.

Maynard, David and Gordon, Tammy. (2014). Tasmanian Tiger: Precious Little Remains. Launceston: Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery. 128 pp. [pp. 91-92]

The "Precious Little Remains" exhibition booklet that coincided with the book.

Chisholm, Alec H. (1945). In Quest Of The Tasmanian "Tiger". The Herald (Melbourne), Tuesday, 30 October, p. 4.

Smith, Steven J. (1981). The Tasmanian Tiger - 1980: A report on an investigation of the current status of thylacine Thylacinus cynocephalus, funded by The World Wildlife Fund Australia. Wildt. Division Tech. Rep. 81/1. Hobart, Australia: National Parks and Wildlife Service. 133 pp.

David Fleay's visit to Beaumaris Zoo (Queen's Domain location), where he both filmed and photographed "Benjamin". He was famously bitten on the buttocks during this encounter, an injury he later proudly boasted of.

Fleay took six photographs that day, four of which have been published. A further two have yet to be published (Cameron Campbell, pers. comm. 17 July 2018).

He also took film 5 (as numbered by the TM website), which was the film that was used by Dr. Stephen Sleightholme to prove that "Benjamin" was a male (Sleightholme, 2011; contra Paddle, 2000).

Paddle, Robert N. (2000). The Last Tasmanian Tiger: The History and Extinction of the Thylacine. Oakleigh, Victoria: Cambridge University Press.

Sleightholme, Stephen R. (2011). Confirmation of the gender of the last captive Thylacine. Australian Zoologist 35(4): 953-956.

Death of last captive:

"Up to about 1935 the Thylacine was kept in captivity in the then Hobart Zoo"

Guiler, Eric Rowland. (1985). Thylacine: The tragedy of the Tasmanian Tiger. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Guiler, Eric Rowland. (1986). The Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart. Papers and Proceedings of the Tasmanian Historical Research Association 33(4): 121-171.

Signs of thylacines found by prospector J. A. Daly in the Jane River region.

A pitiful end to a beautiful species. The real date of death of "Benjamin". The popularly attributed cause of death was being locked out of his sleeping area in the harsh Tasmanian climate. However, there appears to be no good evidence of this.

The date of death (7 September) was discovered by (Smith, 1981), written in the minutes of the Hobart City Council Reserves Committee for 16 September. Beresford & Bailey (1981) also refer to these minutes, presumably sourcing them from the former, even though they do not have (Smith, 1981) in their bibliography.

However, although the HCCRC states "Monday evening last" there appears to be nothing to rule out the possibility that "Benjamin" actually died in the early hours of the 8th. This is just one more cruel irony in the thylacine's story.

The origins of "Benjamin" were clouded. Various theories arose:

1. According to Guiler (1985? 1986?) (Guiler & Godard, 1998?), it was the last surviving of the three Walter Mullins pups caught with their mother in 1923.

2. The most widely accepted account is that "Benjamin" was snared by Elias Churchill in the Upper Florentine Valley in 1933.

3. In an interview with Neil McCulloch (aged 90 at the time), he recalled that his grandfather, James Harrison (and a friend) had snared "Benjamin" in 1931.

4. Guiler notes "at least four persons" have claimed to have captured "Benjamin" (Guiler, 1986:157)

5. The thylacine captured on 7 July 1930, by the Delphin brothers.

6. J. M. Kaine at Lapoinya (north-west) in 1931 (Sleightholme et al., 2020)

All of this has now been resolved by (Linnard et al., 2020).

"Benjamin's" death:

Hobart City Council Reserves Committee minutes for 16 September, 1936

Various theories:

An interview with Neil McCulloch (aged 90 at the time in 2010), grandson of James Harrison, conducted by his granddaughter (i.e. Harrison's great, great granddaughter) "elk" (pseudonym).

Anonymous. (1930). A Rare Catch. Advocate (Tasmania), Thursday, 10 July, p. 6.

Guiler, Eric Rowland. (1985). Thylacine: The tragedy of the Tasmanian Tiger. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Guiler, Eric Rowland. (1986). The Beaumaris Zoo in Hobart. Papers and Proceedings of the Tasmanian Historical Research Association 33(4): 121-171.

Guiler, Eric Rowland and Godard, Philippe. (1998). Tasmanian Tiger: A Lesson to be Learnt. Perth, Western Australia: Abrolhos Publishing. 256 pp.

Linnard, Gareth, Williams, Mike and Holmes, Branden. (2020). The parson, the psychiatrist, the publican, and his nephews: the two final thylacine captures in Tasmania. Papers and Proceedings: Tasmanian Historical Research Association 67(3): 6-22. [Abstract]

Smith, Steven J. (1981). The Tasmanian Tiger - 1980: A report on an investigation of the current status of thylacine Thylacinus cynocephalus, funded by The World Wildlife Fund Australia. Wildt. Division Tech. Rep. 81/1. Hobart, Australia: National Parks and Wildlife Service. 133 pp.