‘He’s not just a history icon, he’s a biological icon’

IT’S the 40th anniversary of the capture of Sweetheart, the Territory’s most notorious croc. ‘He’s not just a history icon, he’s a biological icon’, says NT Museum curator, Jared Archibald

It's the 40th anniversary of Sweetheart the crocodiles capture. Picture Supplied

THE Territory’s most notorious crocodile – Sweetheart – was captured 40 years ago on Friday.

The 5.1m, 780kg beast was caught in 1979 by a team including Alan Morton, Dave Linder and Geoff McDonald, who filmed the capture.

Sweetheart gained notoriety for his aggression, attacking outboard motors, dinghies and fishing boats.

Mr Morton recalled how remarkable the experience was.

“It was the first big croc I’d ever seen and we pulled on the rope and he got his tail and he just cleared all the pandanus in one hit,” he said.

It’s 40th anniversary of Sweetheart the crocodile’s capture. Picture: Peter Bennett

“It showed you the power we were going to have to content with. It was all very exciting for us, a new experience, handling animals we’d never handled before.”

The team attempted to capture Sweetheart alive but the beast drowned while being transported.

Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory curator of Territory history Jared Archibald said Sweetheart’s popularity endured.

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“He’s become an icon, he’s an icon of the museum,” he said.

Mr Archibald’s father Ian was the taxidermist who immortalised Sweetheart.

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“He gets seen by almost a quarter of a million people every year … and the majority of people who come here, when they ask for something they want to see, they ask for Sweetheart and Cyclone Tracy,” Mr Archibald said.

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“Sweetheart is even more important because he’s not just a history icon, he’s a biological icon. He’s a whole lot of other things that work together to make him something special here that we don’t have anywhere else.”