The Saurian Monster – New Zealand Herald, 1st October 1886

The Saurian Monster
New Zealand Herald, 1st October 1886, Page 5

Hamilton, Thursday.
This creature’s appearance has created quite a sensation. Yesterday, mounted Constable Wild visited Mr. Castleton’s farm, examined the locality, and questioned the boys, with whose veracity he states himself perfectly satisfied. Mr. Castleton this morning informed me that yesterday morning early, while away on his business, the boys, who have kept up a continuous watch for the reptile, were standing at a spot whence they could see a large stretch of the creek, and again observed a commotion in the water, and saw the creature swimming down the creek, its head alone being above water.
It has been flippantly suggested by the local paper that it is one of Qualtrough and White’s pigs which has escaped from the slaughter yards, but both Mr. Castleton and his boys ridicule the idea that they could have made any such mistake, the more especially as the boys have been used to hunt these pigs off their father’s farm, and are not likely to be deceived in the appearance of a pig. The natives say that stories are extant amongst them of a very large kind of animal, like an eel, which has come out of the water at times and chased them, even seizing their legs in its teeth. This beast is called by them the Tuna-roa, and they say that a large one inhabits a deep pool formed by the Waipa River, near Fraser’s farm.
Mrs. Castleton states that the boy who first saw the creature, and was chased by it to the house, was so frightened when he entered as to be almost in a faint.