The queerest of fishes

The McCray family pose with a sawfish caught locally, 1953. TRM Collection MUS2019.68.16.

There are four known species of sawfish in Australia, all of which are considered endangered or critically endangered. They are vulnerable to environmental changes, and their rostrums are easily caught in fishing nets.

The fish seek prey through highly sensitive sensory organs in their rostrum; they then use the sharp teeth to slash at schools of fish or slice into larger animals.

Rostrums held in the Museum collection, came from fish that were caught in the 1950s, a time when conservation of the species was not thought of. The Museum has provided measurements and a DNA sample of these rostrums to Sharks and Rays Australia in an effort to learn more about the species and help with the conservation effort.

The Terranora Terror

This rostrum is from a sawfish that was caught in 1952 by Ken and Len McCray in Terranora Creek, in front of their family home on Kennedy Drive.

The brothers caught the fish using a net, and when they eventually pulled the huge fish ashore a crowd of neighbours and friends had gathered to watch. It took the men over 20 minutes to remove the fish from the net, which was almost destroyed by the sharp saw teeth.

It was estimated that the female fish was 15 feet long and the catch was significant enough to earn it an article in the Anglers’ Digest magazine a few months later. Anglers’ Digest reported that when the fish was opened she had nine eggs inside, each the size of an ostrich egg.

For years the fish was mounted on a wall in the shed at the back of the family home on Kennedy Drive in Tweed Heads. In the late 1980s, Sue, Ken McCray’s daughter, and her husband Doug Alder, had been living in the house. When it was sold the saw was given to the newly established Tweed Maritime Museum, now the Tweed Regional Museum.

Sawfish rostrum. Donated by Sue Alder. TRM Collection TH2004.125.

The Cranky Captive

This rostrum is from a sawfish that was caught by Joe McCleod in 1956 and put on live display at Jack Evan’s Porpoise Pool at Snapper Rocks.

Joe recalls

Whilst I was fishing once, I caught a 12 foot sawfish, half a mile downstream from Fingal. The sawfish became entangled in my nets. I wanted to keep it alive I didn’t want to kill it, so I towed it back around, stopping now and then to let it have a bit of a swim and a breath – it was still tied to the boat. I brought it to the back of my home and tied it up on a long rope and rang Jack Evans. He had the Porpoise Pool on Schnapper (sic) Rocks then. He had a spare pool with nothing in it so the next day he and the Boyd Brothers came with a big trailer and about ten of them lifted the sawfish onto the trailer. Jack took it over and put it into the Porpoise Pool. Jack Evans gave me five pounds for him. He put the sawfish on show and made so much money out of showing him that he came back about six months later and gave me some more money.

Jack Evans was already making some money displaying dead sharks on the local beaches and charging a fee to view them. He then started keeping live sharks in his aquarium at Snapper Rocks.

Jack Evans recalls

I used to give the lifesavers some money and keep a certain amount to buy new gear, nets etc. The lifesavers did very well out of them. I then thought that if people will pay to see dead sharks why wouldn't they pay to see live sharks, so I thought I've got a pool at Snapper Rocks on the outside, I'll put a couple of sharks in there. I put a great big 14-15 foot sawfish in there. They were very dangerous too - he got very cranky in there. I got him by the tail one day to pull him in…and by the living Harry, he turned around and he hit me across the knee and it was that damned sore, luckily he's smashed his teeth off his saw but I watched him after that.

At the time it was believed that this was the only sawfish in the world living in captivity.

The sawfish eventually died and Jack gave Joe McCleod the rostrum as a memento. Joe donated it to the Tweed Maritime Museum in 1994 and it came into the Museum’s collection in 2004.

Sawfish rostrum. Donated by Joe McLeod. TRM Collection TH1994.6.