Now THAT is a Crocodile
by Lexa Harpell
Title
Now THAT is a Crocodile
Artist
Lexa Harpell
Medium
Photograph - Photographs
Description
Now THAT is a Crocodile by Lexa Harpell.
Just to prove Harry's crocodile hunter reputation is not an Australian fabricated tall story - yes Aussies tend to tell tall stories for fun!
Harry's 'Crocodile Lair' in Coober Pedy set the scene for the movie Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome in post-apocalyptic Australia.
Coober Pedy is the perfect place for this type of movie with its lunar-looking, dry rocky landscapes, where many residents live underground. The inside of this dug-out home was also featured in the film.
Let's just say tis home is umm 'eclectic'!
A maze of cave-type rooms drilled through the rock of this hill by himself and local opal miners where the year round temperature in the dugout is a cool 24 deg C to escape the 50 plus outside summer heats.
Decorated from discarded furniture and broken items to create a unique and quirky 'art'.
In its heyday, it was 'party central' for the men and women miners who worked hard and played hard in this harsh, barren outback town. It's actually surrounded by several opal mines, so a small walk, drive to infamous Harry's Crocodile Lair.
Harry has since passed, yet his home is still open for those who want to glimpse a part of life and history in this fascinating mining town.
Harry was quite a notorious character who came to Australia from Latvia after WWll where he was a soldier.
I'm guessing he wanted to be as far away from Europe and people after this horrific period and start a new adventure and opportunity?
He went to Australia in remote Northern Territory and began hunting crocodiles and living in the wild to make a living. You would have to be a tough individual to live and work like that!
Many years later, he came to Coober Pedy to mine opals and spent the rest of his days creating his unique home and expanding on his notorious well-earned reputation!
**See further images of his home inside and out on my site.
*This image was captured inside his home from his collection of old photographs - a public space.
Uploaded
June 17th, 2021
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