The Herald, Wednesday evening, August 29, 1917 By Catherine Watson
MAXINE Cummings was searching Trove for local newspaper articles about marram grass when she came upon an article about the discovery of a huge skeleton at Tarwin Lower in 1917.
According to other newspaper accounts, the discovery caused great astonishment in and around Tarwin.
“I have asked a friend who grew up in Tarwin beside the Black family if she had ever heard of this, but no,” Maxine wrote to the Post.
Further research reveals the Mr Le Souëf mentioned in the article was director of the Melbourne Zoological Gardens in the early 1900s. A keen photographer, he deposited his vast collection with the State Library of Victoria but we could find no photos of the mysterious bones in the collection.
At a dead end, I asked ChatGPT which unearthed the following:
MAXINE Cummings was searching Trove for local newspaper articles about marram grass when she came upon an article about the discovery of a huge skeleton at Tarwin Lower in 1917.
According to other newspaper accounts, the discovery caused great astonishment in and around Tarwin.
“I have asked a friend who grew up in Tarwin beside the Black family if she had ever heard of this, but no,” Maxine wrote to the Post.
Further research reveals the Mr Le Souëf mentioned in the article was director of the Melbourne Zoological Gardens in the early 1900s. A keen photographer, he deposited his vast collection with the State Library of Victoria but we could find no photos of the mysterious bones in the collection.
At a dead end, I asked ChatGPT which unearthed the following:
The large skeleton unearthed at Tarwin Lower in 1917 was that of a prehistoric whale, specifically a species of baleen whale.
The find was significant in Australian paleontology. The remains, believed to be several million years old (from the Pliocene epoch), were discovered in the coastal sediments of the region, which is known for yielding marine fossils. Although it was initially an "unknown animal" due to its size and condition, later research identified it as a type of early whale.
If you're looking for historical references, the discovery has occasionally been cited in Australian fossil records.
Interesting! On July 6, 1923, a dead whale washed up on Wreck Beach (Harmers Haven). Hundreds made the trek out to view “the magnitude of the monster”, as the Powlett Express put it. That whale was 74 feet long (22 metres) and the jawbones were 17 feet in diameter, “large enough to take a bullock”. They now grace the Wonthaggi Hotel.
The find was significant in Australian paleontology. The remains, believed to be several million years old (from the Pliocene epoch), were discovered in the coastal sediments of the region, which is known for yielding marine fossils. Although it was initially an "unknown animal" due to its size and condition, later research identified it as a type of early whale.
If you're looking for historical references, the discovery has occasionally been cited in Australian fossil records.
Interesting! On July 6, 1923, a dead whale washed up on Wreck Beach (Harmers Haven). Hundreds made the trek out to view “the magnitude of the monster”, as the Powlett Express put it. That whale was 74 feet long (22 metres) and the jawbones were 17 feet in diameter, “large enough to take a bullock”. They now grace the Wonthaggi Hotel.
Hundreds of sightseers made the long trek out to Wreck Beach to see the dead whale, July 1923. Photo: Wonthaggi & District Historical Society
At the time it was identified as a blue whale (a type of baleen wheel), but last year the Post was contacted by Professor Trevor Branch from the School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences, University of Washington. After viewing photos, he identified it as a fin whale.
When I returned to ChatGPT a few weeks later to check its references for the Tarwin Lower whale, it insisted the skeleton was human.
I protested that the skeleton was 30 feet long. ChatGPT replied:
I couldn’t find any credible source confirming that the 1917 Tarwin Lower skeleton was a 30-foot baleen whale fossil – all the contemporary newspaper reports still treat it as a human skeleton. I didn’t locate any later archaeological or paleontological documentation that supports the “whale fossil” version.
Bullshit, ChatGPT!
So the mystery remains.
What was the skeleton found at Tarwin Lower? In Bass Coast we all know how quickly sands can shift. Was it prehistoric or fairly recent? Was it a fossil or a skeleton? And where is it today?
When I returned to ChatGPT a few weeks later to check its references for the Tarwin Lower whale, it insisted the skeleton was human.
I protested that the skeleton was 30 feet long. ChatGPT replied:
I couldn’t find any credible source confirming that the 1917 Tarwin Lower skeleton was a 30-foot baleen whale fossil – all the contemporary newspaper reports still treat it as a human skeleton. I didn’t locate any later archaeological or paleontological documentation that supports the “whale fossil” version.
Bullshit, ChatGPT!
So the mystery remains.
What was the skeleton found at Tarwin Lower? In Bass Coast we all know how quickly sands can shift. Was it prehistoric or fairly recent? Was it a fossil or a skeleton? And where is it today?