It is surprising that nobody in the Top End media thought to link the recent sighting of humpback whales way up a Kakadu river with Darwin's baffling Mandorah Monster of yesteryear. Back in the l950s and early l960s , the Mandorah Monster was as famous locally as the Loch Ness Monster.
The tropical Nessie was sighted from time to time off Mandorah, just cross the harbour from the Northern Territory capital. There was a holiday resort at Mandorah with a honeymoon suite which featured Cupids in a big way . The monster was seen during nuptial ferry trips across the harbour, one of the crew named Roy Big Foot .
While some people said the scary object was some kind of fast moving giant sea creature, others believed it mechanically driven , even Russian !
The Russkie connection could have been inspired by a highly dubious report in the Northern Territory News quoting Mr J. G. Slaggert, ,said to be a self employed businessman, as having sighted a flying saucer land at the Darwin Golf Course , its occupants speaking perfect English , questioning him about Darwin , announcing they were Russian . Viewed below are l959 photographs taken on the ferry trip to Mandorah, including the wartime tower and gun emplacements.
Seriously, it is just possible that the Mandorah Monster was actually a humpback whale/whales frolicking off Darwin . Meanwhile , our roving cameraman , Vallis, has handed in the following shot of a sea monster in North Queensland waters.
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