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| The bandstand
in Millicent |
Millicent (including Southend and
Tantanoola)
Substantial rural centre servicing the
surrounding farms and timber industry.
Located 402 km south east of Adelaide and 50 km
from Mount Gambier, Millicent is one of the
major centres on the South Coast. It is an
important rural centre for the surrounding farms
and timber industry. There is a great feeling of
parkland and open, green space around the town.
It is believed that the Bungandidj Aborigines
occupied the area before European settlement.
The first European into the district was Charles
Bonney who, in 1839, overlanded cattle through
the area. He was followed shortly afterwards by
Samuel Davenport who established Mayurra sheep
run in 1845. It was later managed by George
Glen.
In 1863 a major swamp clearing project began
and the previously useless land was turned into
rich wheat and barley crops by the creation of
an elaborate and deep drainage system. The key
development occurred when a drain was blasted
which allowed the swamp to drain into Lake
Frome. It is said that there are 1450 km of
drains and 500 bridges in the area.
A town was surveyed in 1870 and built on land
previously owned by Mayurra Station. The town
was named 'Millicent' after Millicent Short the
daughter of the first Anglican Archbishop of
Adelaide. When she died in 1930 the Adelaide
Advertiser's obituary offered a fascinating
insight into her life and how she came to be
honoured by the town. 'The death occurred in
Mount Gambier on Sunday,' it reported, 'of Mrs
Millicent Glen. Mrs Glen was ninety-four years
of age, was the eldest child of the Right Rev.
Dr Augustus Short, first Bishop of Adelaide, and
was born at the vicarage, Ravensthorpe,
Northamptonshire, England on 29 September 1837.
With her parents she arrived at Adelaide in
December 1847. The Bishop chartered the Derwent,
of 362 tons, to bring his family and several
clergymen to Australia, the journey occupying
117 days.
'Mrs Glen had vivid recollections of the
appearance of Adelaide at that time. She
remembered seeing stumps of trees in Rundle
Street, and had seen bullock waggons bogged
there. Miss Millicent Short (Sir James Fergusson
named the town of Millicent after her) married
Mr George Glen, of Mayurra Station, at Trinity
Church, when Bishopscourt, North Adelaide, was
just being completed. Mr and Mrs Glen came back
to Robe in the vessel Ant, and drove to Mayurra,
a distance of sixty miles. With the exception of
her two maids, Mrs Glen was the only white woman
in that part of the country. She took great
interest in the tribes of blacks who lived near
the station.
'Mayurra Station at that time was an immense
run, extending from Tantanoola to Rendelsham and
occupying the whole of the land upon which the
township of Millicent is now built.'
In 1872 the first hotel, the Somerset Hotel,
was constructed. It is still in operation
although it is hardly the original building. At
various times the hotel has served as a school
and a court house. Famously it was the site of a
court hearing involving many prominent citizens
and the charge of looting. In 1876 a barque, the
Geltwood, was wrecked on the coast nearby. The
next morning saw the beach littered with bodies
and cargo from the ship. The locals felt no
qualms about pilfering the flotsam and jetsam
and a court case followed where they were all
acquitted on the dubious grounds that they
didn't know that looting from a shipwreck was a
crime. The Shipwreck Room in the Millicent
Museum has the anchor from the Geltwood.
The railway arrived in 1879 thus ensuring
Millicent's continued importance as a major
regional centre. Today Millicent is a prosperous
country service centre with a strong tradition
of timber and milling as well as agriculture and
fishing industries. It is also a popular tourist
destination.
Things to see:
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| A machinery
display at Millicent Museum
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Millicent National Trust Museum
The Millicent National Trust Museum, located on
Mount Gambier Road, is considered one of the
best rural museums in South Australia. It has
excellent displays of local history, historic
farm machinery, a range of horse drawn vehicles
and some interesting local Aboriginal artefacts.
In recent times it has been organised
thematically with separate sections on the
history of Millicent, artefacts from the
Victorian era, Aboriginal rock engravings and so
on. The centrepiece of the museum is the town's
original primary school which dates from 1873.
It is open from 9.00 a.m. - 5.00 p.m. weekdays,
weekends and public holidays from10 a.m. - 4
p.m. Contact (08) 8733 0904 for more
information. The entrance is through the
Millicent Visitor Information Centre.
Swimming Pool
The Millicent swimming pool is probably the best
swimming pool of any town in Australia. It is
called a swimming lake and is surrounded by a
pleasant park. If you arrive on a hot sunny day
take a dip.
Tantanoola
The Tantanoola tiger is on display in the
Tantanoola Hotel. The place is very small and
very spread out. It is a tiny town located near
a huge woodchip operation.
Tantanoola Tiger
Trying to establish the correct dates and the
actual facts surrounding the Tantanoola tiger is
almost impossible. No two versions are the same
although there is a kind of central germ of
truth. Where there are more than one possible
date I have simply listed them all with question
marks.
It is claimed that the first sighting of the
Tantanoola tiger occurred in (1883? 1889? 1895?)
when a young man riding near Tantanoola claimed
he saw a large shaggy animal leap over a fence
with a sheep in its jaws. (Or was it because two
tigers escaped from a travelling circus?) This
led to hysteria in the local area. Children were
escorted to school by men with guns. People
refused to leave their homes at night. Loaded
shotguns were carried by virtually everyone.
Eventually a local bushman, Tom Donovan,
assisted by three other men, managed to shoot a
large wild dog (an Assyrian wolf?) was shot in
1895. It was given to the Tantanoola Hotel which
had it stuffed and declared that it was the
Tantanoola tiger. It is claimed that in 1911
Robert Edmondson and David Bald were arrested
for stealing and killing sheep and that this was
the real resolution to the problem. Not a
tiger/wolf/dog but some canny men. Who really
knows?
Tom Donovan had the animal stuffed and kept
it in a private museum in Nelson. In 1905 it was
placed in a glass case and put on display in the
Railway Hotel which changed its name to the
Tantanoola Tiger Hotel.
Tantanoola Cave
Tantanoola Cave, located 16 km from Millicent,
may be the only cave in Australia which claims
to have wheelchair access. It is a single cave
which has been formed in an ancient coastal
cliff. It is notable for its excellent columns,
shawls and helictites. The cave was first
discovered by Boyce Lane in 1930 and since then
has been a popular local attraction. For opening
times and cave tours contact (08) 8734 4153.
Canunda National Park
Located on the coast and stretching from
Carpenters Rocks to Southend (an area of 9359
hectares which stretches for 40 km), the Canunda
National Park is a large coastal park
characterised, as is much of the Coorong to the
north, by huge sand dunes which are covered by
silky tea trees and coastal wattle. There are a
number of access points. Two wheel drive can
enter from Southend. Other entry points require
4WD.
At the Southend end of the park is Cullens
Bay Blowhole and Boozy Gully Lookout both of
which are excellent if the weather conditions
are right. Be warned: the beaches in the Park
are dangerous.
This is an important sanctuary where the
endangered orange-bellied parrot, the rufous
bristlebird and the olive whistler can be seen
although it is more likely that you will see
western grey kangaroos, echidnas, wombats, seals
and white-breasted sea eagles. Contact the
Ranger's Office on (08) 8735 6053.
Wyrie Swamp Site
Located 7 km south of Millicent, the Wyrie Swamp
is an important archaeological site. About
10,000 years ago local Aborigines visited the
shores of the swamp. A peat bog which has
yielded a number of important early Aboriginal
artefacts including a simple short spear, a
digging stick, pointed stakes, two barbed spears
and nine boomerangs. The wooden boomerangs found
in the swamp are some of the oldest ever
discovered in Australia.
