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The violent end of real Crocodile Dundee
Rod Ansell’s amazing story of Outback survival inspired the 1986 hit comedy Crocodile Dundee, but the NT bushman's real life became a tragic tale that ended in blood and violence.
The ordeal that initially brought Ansell fame happened in the NT in 1977 when his boat capsized on the Victoria River and he washed up on an island at the mouth of the Fitzmaurice River.
Stranded with few supplies, Ansell slept in a tree to stay out of the reach of crocodiles as he contemplated how he would escape his predicament with nobody knowing his location.
But Ansell was in luck. After being stranded for seven weeks he was found by two stockmen and their boss. While somewhat emaciated, he was in otherwise good health.
Embarrassed, Ansell kept details of the adventure under his hat for fear of upsetting his mother. The media, however, eventually found out about the story.
While some Top End locals questioned Ansell’s version of events, the media lapped up his survival tale and dubbed him a modern-day Robinson Crusoe.
In 1981 Ansell famously arrived barefoot to an interview with Michael Parkinson. He also said he slept on the floor in a sleeping bag at his five-star hotel and was mystified by the room’s bidet.
The interview caught the attention of Paul Hogan, who used Ansell as inspiration for the character of Mick Dundee in the wildly popular Aussie film, Crocodile Dundee.
Ansell never saw any money from the movie —a fact he was constantly bitter about. Things, however, would soon become much worse for the bushman.
Ansell was forced to cull 3000 head of water buffalo by the NT government on his pastoral lease, which destroyed his income, before an invasive weed rendered his land almost useless.
Forced to sell the property, Ansell also suffered a marriage breakdown in the early 90s before he turned to cattle rustling, growing marijuana and amphetamine use.
His spiral climaxed on August 2, 1999. That night Ansell was in the grip of addiction and paranoia when he fired six shots into a couple's caravan at Livingstone, south of Darwin.
During the shooting spree Ansell shot off the index finger of another man while raving that Freemasons had kidnapped his sons and were now stalking him.
Ansell then ran into bushland armed with a rifle and 12-gauge shotgun, but instead of fleeing the scene, he chose to linger as police swarmed the area over the next 10 hours.
The following morning Ansell ambushed two officers and a bystander at a Stuart Highway roadblock near Acacia Hills, killing Sergeant Glen Anthony Huitson and wounding the bystander.
A gun battle erupted between Ansell and the surviving officer, Constable Jamie O’Brien, who killed the wanted man with a shotgun blast.
Constable O'Brien was awarded a bravery medal for stopping Ansell's rampage. At a coronial inquest in 2000 he was praised for his actions in the face of extreme danger.
Words: Meagan Dillon, Ellie TurnerProducer: Andrew Piva																																								

Original URL: https://www.ntnews.com.au/web-stories/free/nt-news/rod-ansell-the-violent-end-to-the-life-of-real-crocodile-dundee