ROD ANSELL MEET THE REAL CROCODILE DUNDEE

The Aussie larrikin went from outback hero to killer

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I't's been nearly 40 years since Paul Hogan first stepped into the role of crocodile hunter Mick Dundee, instantly becoming an icon of Australian cinema. But while the knife-wielding larrikin might have been a work of fiction, it's said that the character was modelled after real-life bushman, Rod Ansell.

Ansell became famous for his survival skills after his boat was overturned by “something big” while travelling on the Victoria River region of NT in May 1977. Managing to jump into a dinghy with his two dogs, a rifle, some bedding and canned food, Ansell's tinny then drifted out to sea before eventually coming into contact with land.

There, on a small island at the mouth of the Fitzmaurice River, he slept in a tree just out of reach of crocodiles, leading him to be dubbed the “modern day Robinson Crusoe”.

At one point, he claimed to have shot a five-metre crocodile, whose head he kept as a souvenir. His 56-day ordeal came to an end when two Indigenous stockmen found him and helped him to the nearest town.

EIGHT-WEEK SURVIVAL