Meet Big Ben: CQ's biggest ever croc

If you thought the 5.2m croc found dead in the Fitzroy was big, look at this fella...

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

MANY Central Queenslanders are still in mourning for the iconic salt water crocodile who was killed recently.

The massive beast was 5.2m (17 feet) long and was found in the Fitzroy River with a gunshot wound to head.

Police and officers from the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection are investigating the shooting of an iconic 5.2m crocodile near Etna Creek north of Rockhampton.

A croc this large is always a sight to behold, but it is far from the first monster to ever be pulled from the waters of the mighty Fitzroy River.

While 17 feet is impressive, it pales in comparison to what could be CQ's largest croc in history, Big Ben.

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 to 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.

Originally published as Meet Big Ben: CQ's biggest ever croc