Tantanoola, South Australia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tantanoola (37°41′S, 140°27′E) , postcode 5280, altitude 67m) is a town in South Australia. The name is derived from the aboriginal word tentunola, which means boxwood / brushwood hill or camp. Tantanoola was originally named 'Lucieton' by Governor Jervois after his daughter Lucy Caroline, on July 10, 1879. It was changed by Governor Robinson to 'Tantanoola' on October 4, 1888.

Tantanoola is in the Wattle Range Council local government area, the South Australian House of Assembly electoral districts of MacKillop and Mount Gambier and the Australian House of Representatives Division of Barker.

Tantanoola is known for the Tantanoola Tiger, a phantom cat which supposedly stalked the area during the late nineteenth century. In August 1895 an animal was shot by Thomas John Donovan, which was believed to have been the mysterious predator. The animal turned out to be more like a wolf than a cat. Later, it was determined to be an Assyrian wolf, although how it arrived in South Australia has been the subject of a number of theories. It is currently preserved and on display at the Tantanoola Hotel (which is also known colloquially as the 'Tantanoola Tiger Hotel').^[1]