Editing Rod Ansell

{{Short description|Bushman and inspiration for Crocodile Dundee (1954–1999)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2015}}
{{Infobox person
| name		    = Rod Ansell
| image         = Rod Ansell in 1988.jpg
| caption       = Ansell in 1988
| alt           = 
| birth_name	= Rodney William Ansell
| birth_date	= {{Birth date|1954|10|1|df=yes}}
| birth_place	= [[Murgon]], [[Queensland]], Australia
| death_date	= {{Death date and age|1999|8|3|1954|10|1|df=yes}}
| death_place	= [[Acacia Hills, Northern Territory]], Australia
| occupation	= {{hlist|[[Cattle station|Cattle grazier]]|buffalo hunter}}
| spouse        = {{marriage|[[Joanne van Os]]|1977|1992|end=divorce}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Outback Heart |url=https://www.ebooks.com/en-ca/771881/outback-heart/os-joanne-van/ |website=eBooks.com |language=en-ca}}</ref>
| children = 2<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/law-order/the-day-the-real-crocodile-dundee-rod-ansell-was-shot-dead/news-story/b282e2a78ef1a2091db3d739b7b819f8|title=The real Crocodile Dundee's dark side|date=2014-01-04|website=www.heraldsun.com.au|language=en|access-date=2019-05-29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.penguin.com.au/books/outback-heart-9781742745992|title=Outback Heart by Joanne Van Os|website=www.penguin.com.au|language=en|access-date=2019-05-29}}</ref>
| known_for	= Served as the inspiration for the ''[[Crocodile Dundee]]'' films 
}}
'''Rodney William Ansell''' (1 October 1954 – 3 August 1999) was an [[Australia (continent)|Australian]] [[cattle]] [[Pastoral farming|grazier]] and a [[Water buffalo|buffalo]] hunter. Described to be from "[[the bush]]", Ansell became famous in 1977 after he was stranded in extremely remote country in the [[Northern Territory]], and the story of his survival for 56 days with limited supplies became news headlines around the world. Consequently, he served as the inspiration for [[Paul Hogan]]'s character in the 1986 film ''[[Crocodile Dundee]]''. In 1999, he was killed in a [[shootout]] by policemen of the [[Northern Territory Police]].

== Early life ==
Ansell was born in [[Murgon]], Queensland, to George William Ansell and Eva May Ansell, the third of four children.<ref name="Wallace2000">{{Cite report |author=Wallace, R J |date=15 September 2000 |title=Inquest into the deaths of Glen Anthony Huitson and Rodney William Ansell |url=http://www.nt.gov.au/justice/courtsupp/coroner/documents/102-103.doc |publisher=Northern Territory Magistrates Court 43 |location=Darwin |type=Coroner's Report |docket=9917767 & 9917768 |format=DOC |access-date=20 January 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110320225730/http://www.nt.gov.au/justice/courtsupp/coroner/documents/102-103.doc |archive-date=20 March 2011 }}</ref> He then moved to the [[Northern Territory]] at the age of 15.<ref name="Burns2002">{{cite book |title=Understanding Journalism |last=Burns |first=Lynette Sheridan |year=2002 |publisher=Sage Publications |location=Thousand Oaks, CA |isbn=978-0-7619-7026-2 |pages=152–168 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aohzQv4Cj94C&pg=PA159 |access-date=21 January 2012}}</ref><ref name="Milliken1999">{{cite news |title=Obituary: Rod Ansell |author=Milliken, Robert |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-rod-ansell-1112183.html |newspaper=The Independent |date=12 August 1999 |access-date=17 January 2012}}</ref> As a young man, he made a living hunting [[feral]] water buffalo in the [[Top End]], the meat being exported to foreign markets.{{cn|date=December 2024}}

=== Survival ordeal ===
In May 1977, shortly after completing a buffalo catching job in [[Kununurra, Western Australia]], Ansell decided to travel to the [[Victoria River (Northern Territory)|Victoria River]] on what he claimed was a fishing trip. He was not specific about his plans, only telling his then-girlfriend Lorraine he would be back in a few months. When Ansell's [[motorboat]] was [[Capsizing|capsized]] and sunk by "something big" (he later sensationally claimed it was a whale), no one knew where to find him.<ref name="Burns2002"/><ref name="Toohey1999">{{cite news |title=How the Dundee Myth Died in One Mad Day |author=Toohey, Paul |url=http://www.hsse.nie.edu.sg/staff/blackburn/dundeereal.htm |newspaper=The Australian |date=7 August 1999 |access-date=17 January 2012 |archive-date=15 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415031042/http://www.hsse.nie.edu.sg/staff/blackburn/dundeereal.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Ansell managed to board his [[Ship's tender|tender]], a small [[dinghy]] with only a single [[oar]], and retrieve his two 8-week-old [[Bull Terrier|bull terriers]] and a small amount of equipment (a rifle, a knife, some canned food, and bedding). But with no fresh water, Ansell was in a perilous situation, stranded almost {{convert|200|km|mi}} from the nearest permanent human settlement,<ref name="Burns2002"/> and one of his dogs had a broken leg.<ref name="Burns2002"/>

During the night, Ansell's dinghy drifted out to sea, eventually washing up on a small island at the mouth of the [[Fitzmaurice River]], north of the Victoria River. Over the next 48 hours, Ansell travelled up the Fitzmaurice on [[Tide|tidal flows]], becoming severely [[Dehydration|dehydrated]] but eventually finding fresh water above the saltwater tidal range. Ansell subsisted on wild cattle and buffalo, hunting by day to feed himself and his dogs. He sometimes resorted to drinking cattle blood as a substitute for water, the fluids helping to maintain his body's electrolyte balance.<ref name="Burns2002"/> He was also able to follow bees to their hive to retrieve honey. During the night, Ansell slept in a tree fork out of reach of crocodiles, although he shared the tree with a [[brown tree snake]].  At one point, he shot a {{convert|5|m|ft|adj=on}} crocodile, whose head he kept as a souvenir.<ref name="Burns2002"/>

Ansell never counted on being rescued; he had told others he would be away for months, and any search parties would be combing over the Victoria River, not the Fitzmaurice. He rested his hope on walking overland to a [[Pastoral farming|pastoral]] station when the wet season began. One day, Ansell heard the distinctive tinkling of horse-bells, which drew him to two [[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginal]] [[Stockman (Australia)|stockmen]] and their cattle manager, Luke McCall.<ref name="Burns2002"/><ref name="FourCorners">{{Cite episode|title=Crossroads|url=http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/stories/s55944.htm|access-date=17 January 2012|series=Four Corners|network=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|series-link=Four Corners (Australian TV program)|credits=George, Peter (Reporter); Matt Brown (Producer), Andrea Thomson (Research)|airdate=27 September 1999}}</ref> Although he was somewhat [[Emaciation|emaciated]], Ansell was otherwise healthy. Once back home, he apparently kept his seven-week ordeal to himself, fearing he would upset his mother with his recklessness. He later claimed the experience was hardly a big deal, explaining:<blockquote>All the blokes up in this country, who work with cattle, [[Stockman (Australia)|ringers, stockmen]], bull-catches, whatever, all of them, have really narrow shaves all the time. But they never talk about it...I think the opinion is that if you come through in one piece, and you're still alive, then nothing else really matters. It's like going out to shoot a [[kangaroo]]. You don't come back and say you missed by half-an-inch. You either got him or you didn't. So that is how I looked at it. Until the paper got hold of the story, and that changed a lot of things.<ref name="Burns2002"/></blockquote>

Newspapers dubbed Ansell the "modern-day [[Robinson Crusoe]]" and he was making headlines by August 1977.<ref>{{cite news |date=6 August 1977 |title=Fishing trip led to two months lost in NT wilds |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110858395 |accessdate=16 September 2024 |newspaper=[[The Canberra Times]] |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |page=1 |via=National Library of Australia |volume=51 |issue=14,848}}</ref>

=== Media attention ===
In 1977, after becoming a sensation in the Australian media following his harrowing ordeal in the [[Outback]], Ansell met [[Joanne van Os]], 22, a radio operator originally from [[Melbourne]] who was then working at the remote [[Indigenous Australians|Aboriginal]] community of [[Wadeye, Northern Territory|Wadeye]].<ref name="Kerin2005">{{cite news|url=http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/nt/content/2005/s1477362.htm|title=Joanne van Os; Outback Heart|author=Kerin, Lindy|date=7 October 2005|access-date=17 January 2012|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090722110816/http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/nt/content/2005/s1477362.htm|archive-date=22 July 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> The two fell in love and married, having two sons: Callum (born 1979) and Shawn (born 1981).<ref name="Wallace2000" /> The family spent much of their early years living "under just a [[canvas]] sheet".<ref name="Kerin2005" /> With no electricity or running water, they cooked by campfire and communicated by radio.

In 1979, filmmaker Richard Oxenburgh asked Ansell to relive his adventures in the documentary film ''To Fight the Wild'', which the following year was published as a book. Although both accepted Ansell's version of events uncritically, his story was frequently treated with skepticism by locals in the [[Top End]].<ref name="Toohey1999" /> Some believed it was a publicity stunt and others wondered why Ansell did not follow the river downstream to the nearest town.<ref name="Toohey1999" /> When Ansell was asked in interviews what he was doing in the remote Australian wilderness by himself, he claimed he was on a fishing trip. Privately, however, he confided to friends that he was actually [[poaching]] crocodiles.<ref name="FourCorners" />

In 1981, Ansell was invited to [[Sydney]] where he was interviewed by English journalist [[Michael Parkinson]] for his television program ''[[Parkinson (TV series)|Parkinson]]''. Ansell attended the interview barefoot.<ref name="Burns2002" /> While staying at the famous five-star [[Sebel Townhouse Hotel]], he slept in his sleeping bag on the floor rather than on his bed, and was reportedly mystified by his room's [[bidet]].<ref name="Milliken1999" /><ref name="Toohey1999" /> Ansell's interview and curious city antics sparked Paul Hogan's interest, inspiring him and co-writers Ken Shadie and John Cornell to create the character [[Michael "Crocodile" Dundee|Mick "Crocodile" Dundee]].<ref name="Toohey1999" /> Following the unexpected blockbuster success of ''Crocodile Dundee'', Ansell unsuccessfully took Hogan to court.<ref name="Milliken1999" /><ref name="Toohey1999" />

According to Ansell's friends, he was "at one" with [[Arnhem Land]]'s Indigenous Australians, and like the film character, he spoke "Urapunga" ([[Ngalakgan language|Ngalakgan]]) fluently, having become a "fully initiated white man".<ref name="Milliken1999"/><ref name="Toohey1999"/> An "unassuming achiever" who embodied "the spirit of the Territory", Ansell was named Territorian of the Year in 1987 for helping to put Top End on the world map.<ref name="Milliken1999"/> Journalist [[Chips Mackinolty]], who met Ansell in the 1980s, described him as "articulate and likable, if somewhat intense".<ref name="Burns2002"/> However, Ansell's new-found fame alienated him from his peers, and he later lamented of his rejection back home:<blockquote>Proving the point about the story being true or not wouldn't matter that much. Because the people it would affect, who affect me, are the people who live where I work, and know me. And people up here have a phobia about appearing on the media. So that was detrimental to my standing in their eyes...they thought it was a terrible thing to do.<ref name="Burns2002"/></blockquote>

== Later life ==
In 1985, Ansell borrowed money and secured a [[pastoral lease]] in northern Arnhem Land. He started up ''Melaleuca'', a [[cattle station]] {{convert|140|km|mi}} east of [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]], near [[Kakadu National Park]],<ref name="Wallace2000" /><ref name="Burns2002" /><ref name="FourCorners" /> named after the ''[[Melaleuca]]'' paper bark trees which dot the landscape. The Ansells built their homestead on the station, not far from the [[Mary River (Northern Territory)|Mary River]]. In the 1980s, he found himself in a protracted dispute with the Northern Territory government over the controversial 'Bovine Brucellosis and Tuberculosis Eradication Campaign' (BTEC). To comply with BTEC, Ansell was forced to kill 3,000 head of feral buffalo on his property.<ref name="Burns2002" /> He had originally planned to capture and domesticate the animals, creating a pastoral herd that would have afforded his family a comfortable lifestyle.<ref name="FourCorners" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Stanley |first=Warwick |date=1990-11-24 |title=Croc Dundee battles BTEC |url=https://hdl.handle.net/10070/112341 |access-date=2024-09-16 |work=[[Northern Territory News]]|hdl=10070/112341 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Stanley |first=Warwick |date=1990-11-02 |title='Croc Dundee' forced to leave station |url=https://hdl.handle.net/10070/110028 |access-date=2024-09-16 |work=[[Northern Territory News]]|hdl=10070/110028 }}</ref> Arguing that money spent on the BTEC program "would be better spent on research on [[AIDS]]", Ansell considered the destruction of the animals an outrageous waste of good livestock.<ref name="Milliken1999" /><ref name="FourCorners" />

Three neighbouring graziers were eventually awarded [[AUD]]$100,000 in government loans, but Ansell was never compensated for his losses.<ref name="Burns2002"/> ''[[Mimosa pigra]]'' weeds also began taking over the floodplain, rendering it useless. With no money to fight the invasive weeds, the Ansells were forced to sell their cattle station in June 1991.<ref name="FourCorners"/>

In June 1996, he began dating Cherie Hewson. The couple lived at Urapanga Station, an [[Outstation (Aboriginal community)|Aboriginal outstation]] on the [[Roper River]] about {{convert|483|km|mi}} south of Darwin.<ref name="Milliken1999"/> Over the next several years, the couple's drug addiction became more destructive, culminating in a [[Psychosis|psychotic]] episode that ultimately claimed Ansell's life in a shootout with police.<ref name="Milliken1999"/><ref name="Toohey1999"/>

== Death ==
Ansell was killed following a police shootout on 3 August 1999. The deadly altercation began at approximately 10:45&nbsp;a.m. on the roadblocked intersection of [[Stuart Highway]] and Old Bynoe Road, near [[Acacia Hills, Northern Territory|Acacia Hills]].<ref name="Wallace2000"/><ref name="Milliken1999"/> Ansell ambushed veteran Sergeant Glen Anthony Huitson and his partner, rookie Constable Jamie O'Brien, with a shot from Ansell's [[.30-30 Winchester]] lever-action rifle deflecting off a police car and fatally striking Huitson in the abdomen below his [[bulletproof vest]], and severely injured onlooker Jonathan Anthonysz in the pelvis and lower back. A gun-battle immediately erupted between Constable O'Brien and Ansell upon arrival of specialist police officers from the Territory Response Group. About five minutes into the fight, Ansell was shot dead. O'Brien killed Ansell with a shotgun after unloading on Ansell's position with his [[Glock]] pistol, having missed all his previous shots.<ref name="Wallace2000"/> The battle ended the authorities' 12-hour search for an attacker who shot and seriously injured two nearby residents (David Hobden in the eye and Brian Williams in his index finger) the previous night. Ansell's girlfriend Hewson was with him but escaped before the gun-battle occurred; she fled, eventually turning herself in to [[Brisbane]] police on 7 August 1999.<ref name="Wallace2000"/>

Although police were at a loss to explain Ansell's motive (he could have easily escaped the roadblock had he chosen to), it was later determined that Ansell had been raving about [[Freemasons]] prior to his death; he was distraught, apparently convinced that Freemasons had kidnapped his two sons and were now stalking him.<ref name="Wallace2000"/><ref name="Toohey1999"/> During the coroner's inquest, [[psychiatrist]] Robert Parker made the following observations on Ansell's mental state before his death:<blockquote>There is no doubt that Ansell was affected by amphetamine intoxication prior to his fatal interaction with Sergeant Huitson...Ansell's behaviour prior to the initial shots being fired is consistent with amphetamine intoxication with restlessness, [[hypervigilance]], anxiety, anger and impaired judgement ([[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders|DSM IV]]). He was also affected by a paranoid psychotic state which is typical of chronic amphetamine use.<ref name="Wallace2000"/></blockquote>

Parker also determined that Ansell and Hewson had developed a [[Folie à deux|shared psychosis]], stating:<blockquote>...the two of them developed a shared delusional state or ''[[Folie à deux|folie a deux]]''...It is possible, therefore, that one or both parties had an underlying vulnerability to mental illness which was enhanced and sustained by their regular use of amphetamines.<ref name="Wallace2000"/></blockquote>

An autopsy of Ansell's remains showed he had suffered 30 entry wounds or grazes, all caused by shotgun pellets; the fatal injury was caused by a pellet that had perforated his [[aorta]]. The cause of death was determined to be "[[Bleeding|haemorrhage]] from multiple gunshot wounds involving various parts of the body".<ref name="Wallace2000"/> Following the request of his sons, Ansell was given a full Aboriginal burial at Mount Catt, [[Arnhem Land]].<ref>{{cite news |title=NT: Aborigines planning funeral for Ansell |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-22629691.html |agency=Australian Associated Press |date=9 August 1999 |access-date=17 January 2012}}{{dead link|date=February 2019|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> His funeral was attended by his sons and parents.<ref>{{cite news |title=Aboriginal burial for Crocodile Dundee |url=http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/aboriginal-burial-for-crocodile-dundee-1.8499?ot=inmsa.ArticlePrintPageLayout.ot |agency=South African Press Association |date=9 August 1999 |access-date=17 January 2012}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Death of Adam Salter]]
* [[Death of Tyler Cassidy]]
* [[Death of Michael Capel]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book |title=To Fight the Wild |last=Ansell |first=Rodney |author2=Rachel Percy |author3=Robert Birch  |year=1986 |orig-year=First published 1980 |publisher=Harcourt Brace Jovanovich |location=New York |isbn=978-0-15-289068-1}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Dougherty |first1=Margot |date=13 June 1988 |title=Meet Rod Ansell, a Daring, Real-Life Dundee |journal=People |volume=29 |issue=23 |page=108(4) |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20099199,00.html |access-date=4 February 2012}}
* {{cite book |title=Outback Heart |last=Os |first=Joanne van |year=2005 |publisher=Bantam Books |location=Sydney |isbn=978-1-86325-502-8}}
{{Refend}}

{{Crocodile Dundee}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ansell, Rodney}}
[[Category:1954 births]]
[[Category:1999 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Murgon]]
[[Category:People from the Northern Territory]]
[[Category:Crime in the Northern Territory]]
[[Category:Deaths by firearm in the Northern Territory]]
[[Category:People shot dead by law enforcement officers in Australia]]
[[Category:Tall tales]]
[[Category:Crocodile Dundee]]
[[Category:Australian pastoralists]]
[[Category:Australian stockmen]]