'Dad paid to see 9.7m monster croc skin hanging in pub'

A HABANA man is adamant his father and grandfather paid sixpence to see the skin of Mackay's world record monster crocodile hanging in a pub.

FAMILY STORY: Greg Ellul at his Habana home with a family history book. Mr Ellul says his dad, Joe Ellul, and his grandfather, Guiseppi Ellul, visited the Riverview Hotel (later the Leichhardt Hotel) to see the skin of the 32 foot (9.7m) crocodile when Joe was a boy. Picture: Luke Mortimer

A HABANA man is adamant his father and grandfather paid sixpence to see the skin of Mackay's world record monster crocodile hanging in a pub.

Greg Ellul said his late dad, Joe Ellul, told him about visiting the Riverview Hotel (later Leichhardt Hotel) in River St with Guiseppi Ellul as a boy, around the 1920s or early 1930s.

That would have been decades after the 9.7m (32 foot) saltwater crocodile - which would be the largest recorded - was reportedly shot from the hotel in the late 1880s.

Mr Ellul, 69, said his father described the crocodile's skin as an awe-inspiring sight, stretching across a wall at the hotel, despite probably shrinking somewhat over the years.

"His dad took him in when he was a kid and you had to pay sixpence for the two of them to go and see it, the skin of the crocodile,” he said.

Joe Ellul (left) and his dad Guiseppi are pictured in this family portrait taken about 1934. Picture: Daily Mercury Archives

"He said it went right along a wall and the tail was sort of hanging out. Dad was told the croc was shot on a sandbar (in the Pioneer River) from the hotel, with a 0.303 or a high-powered rifle.

"You can see the ropes wrapped around the crocodile in the photo, which they would have used to drag the big fellow onto the banks.”

Mackay historian Terry Hayes said he'd heard a showman had bought the crocodile's remains and hit the road with them.

If that's accurate, it's likely the showman took the skin on tour long after the shooting.

Asked if he believed the legend of Mackay's monster crocodile was true, Mr Ellul said "of course it is”.

He said he'd love to see the legend substantiated and proven to be fact.

"That'll stop the people who don't believe it because they didn't see it,” Mr Ellul said.

"The story was handed down to me by Dad, who definitely saw it as a kid.”

Does this historic photograph show the monster 9.7m (32 foot) crocodile reportedly shot from the Riverview Hotel (later the Leichhardt) in Mackay on an unknown date? The jury's still out. Picture: Aaron Weston/Facebook

Mr Ellul recognised the historic photo said to be of the monster croc (above) and said his dad had shown him the same photo.

He believes there's probably crocodiles as big as Mackay's monster lurking in isolated parts of the Northern Territory and the north of Western Australia.

Mr Hayes recently said he was unable to find any substantial evidence of the crocodile's existence in his decades writing for the Mercury.

However, stories like Mr Ellul's continue to crop up, with many long-time Mackay residents believing the city can indeed claim the record for the world's biggest crocodile.

The Daily Mercury has asked the Queensland Museum if it has any record of the crocodile, as a May 16, 1951 Townsville Bulletin article indicated.

The Museum of Brisbane was also contacted, but said any relevant records would be stored at the Queensland Museum.

The Bulletin article mentions the shooting of a 32-foot crocodile as fact and states the claim was substantiated by the Australian Encyclopaedia "in which J. D. Ogilvy, then curator of the Brisbane Museum, is given as the authority for stating the reptile was shot in the Pioneer River”.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, which published the Australian Encyclopaedia at the time, has also been contacted.

Claims of crocodiles up to 7m (23ft) long have been accepted by the Guinness Book of Records.

Do you have more evidence, photographic or written, about Mackay's legendary monster crocodile? Email [e-mail]

Originally published as 'Dad paid to see 9.7m monster croc skin hanging in pub'