Unfortunately, the large male crocodile now known as
Sweetheart, which is on display in the Darwin
Museum, was drowned during the capture process.
Cassius was captured in the same area some years
later and, as George points out, is much larger and has
the scars commensurate with attacking outboard
motors. George’s theory is that with all the excitement
at the time of the attacks, Cassius moved away and his
place was taken by the animal that was subsequently
caught and killed. One reporter who interviewed
George years ago
reported that when a
seaplane flew over
Green Island, creating a
noise similar to an out-
board motor, Cassius
alone amongst George’s
crocodiles went crazy
in his enclosure. This
man came away believ-
ing that George may
well be right.
Then it was time to meet George and Billy took us
behind the scenes where even off-display we
encountered more giant croc skulls and large
carvings. George had recently had an operation for a
detached retina in one eye and, with the patch over
his eye together with his grey hair and beard, gave the
distinct impression of a pirate come to life. We
introduced ourselves and sat down for the interview.
Michael had met George some years before and at one
stage George looked at him and said, “I know you. You
had a beard back then.”
‘George is convinced Cassius
is the real ‘Sweetheart’ that
became a legend after
Michael nodded with a
smile, and I commented
on a particularly large
skull nearby.
repeatedly attacking
boats in the Finniss River.’
Some years before obtaining Cassius, George had sold
Gomek, one of the two huge crocodiles that he had
captured in New Guinea, to an American institution,
retaining Oscar who was slightly larger. Hilton
Graham, another croc farmer from
the Northern Territory, told George
about Cassius, who was at that time
held in Hilton’s croc farm after
being captured by a team of people
that included Dr Grahame Webb.
George was immediately interested
and, upon seeing how large Cassius
actually was, he purchased the
animal and trucked it to Far North
Queensland and then on to Green
Island. I remember seeing a video of
the team removing Cassius from the
rope trap in which he was captured
and being impressed by his massive
bulk as he was being drawn up a
ramp into a cattle truck. Billy took
us to Cassius’ enclosure, and there
in the water, with his head resting
on the edge of the pool, was the
largest crocodile I have ever seen in
the flesh. Scarred around the nose,
very dark in colouration, and with
several centimetres missing from
his tail, he is a very impressive
creature indeed. Michael started to
take some photos and Billy asked if
we would like to go into the
enclosure with him. This was far
beyond what we had expected and
we took advantage of Billy’s’ kind-
ness and got some great photos near
the pool. Billy, we are all eternally
grateful for this opportunity!
George: Yes, that one
was from a swampy area
of New Guinea; they are
darker in colour. We had
a harpoon in him and
would have lost him if I
hadn’t jumped in and tied a rope around him. He’d
been underwater for a long time.
Neville: Were you sure he was dead?