Crocodiles, colonialism, and Australian television

Abstract

Malcolm Douglas funded his first film, Across the Top (1967), in part, by selling the hides of the saltwater crocodiles he hunted and killed. In the 1970s and 1980s he was a central figure in the rise of an Australian format that blended wildlife documentary with travel for primetime broadcast audiences. Later, his Cable Bay business farmed the same species for use as wallets, belts, and bags by French fashion houses such as Hermes. By the time of Douglas’ death in 2010 the saltwater crocodile had performed a unique feat in the Anthropocene, moving from ‘endangered’ to ‘least concern’ on the IUCN ‘red list’ of species. Today, there is a flourishing economy of crocodile tourism (or ‘non-consu..