Crocodile Harry

Arvīds Blūmentāls, known in Australia as Crocodile Harry, was a Latvian-born crocodile hunter, opal miner and storyteller. His life carried him from rural Kurzeme through wartime Europe to northern Australia and the underground homes of Coober Pedy. He became a recognisable local character whose stories and unusual surroundings attracted travellers from around the world. [1, 2, 3] Born on 19 March 1925 at Būdeni in Dundaga parish, he grew up in a farming family. In 1942, aged seventeen, he volunteered for the 25th Abava Battalion, a German auxiliary police formation, and later served in the Latvian Legion’s 15th Waffen-SS Division. He was wounded during the war. He joined the French Foreign Legion in 1947 and emigrated to Australia in 1951. [1, 8] In northern Australia, Blūmentāls earned his living hunting crocodiles during the 1950s and 1960s. Later work included surveying before he settled in Coober Pedy and took up opal mining. His dugout homes combined practical underground living with sculptures, collected objects and visitors’ inscriptions. The Crocodile’s Nest became a distinctive part of the town’s visitor experience. [2, 8] Blūmentāls maintained a connection with Latvian readers through accounts of his adventures. His publications include Latvietis krokodiļu mednieks Austrālijā (1957), Ilgas pēc saules (1958), and Nacionālais dēkainis – krokodilu mednieks (2000), the latter with Rimants Ziedonis. They gave his Australian experiences a place in Latvian writing about life abroad. [1] A crocodile sculpture installed in Dundaga in 1995, made by Oļegs Skarainis and donated by Norberts Klaucēns, recalls his adventures and the wider history of the district. The memorial gives visitors a tangible connection between his Latvian birthplace and the adventures that made him known in Australia. [3, 9] Blūmentāls died on 13 October 2006 in Coober Pedy, aged eighty-one. His funeral took place at Boot Hill Cemetery on 27 October. A new headstone was unveiled in 2024, supported by family members and documented by the local newspaper. His grave provides a lasting connection between his Latvian origins and the Australian community where he spent his later years. [1, 2, 4]

The book A Hundred Great Latvians, which includes this person, can be purchased here.