Millicent - Places to See

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 and weekends from 10.00 a.m. - 4 p.m. Access is through the Millicent Visitor Information Centre. Contact (08) 8733 0904 for more information.

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.