The story
On 12 December 1964 the French photographer Robert Le Serrec, his family and a friend were crossing Stonehaven Bay at Hook Island in the Whitsundays when, they said, they saw a huge, dark, tadpole-shaped animal lying on the floor of the shallow lagoon. Le Serrec photographed it, and estimates of its length grew to around 75 to 80 ft.
The photos were published in Australia's Everyone magazine and went around the world. The best-known picture shows a broad head and a long, tapering tail under the water.
The case is widely considered a hoax. It came out that Le Serrec was in debt in France and had talked about making money from a sea-serpent photo before the trip. Suggested explanations range from a sheet or tarpaulin weighted on the sea bed to a large fish.
What was shown or claimed
- A huge dark tadpole shape on the sea floor
- A broad head and long thin tail
- Seen in clear, shallow lagoon water
Timeline
- 1964Robert Le Serrec photographs the 'giant tadpole'
Hook Island, QueenslandIn December 1964 Robert Le Serrec, with his family and a friend, said they photographed a huge tadpole-like creature in Stonehaven Bay at Hook Island, Queensland. The best-known photo circulated around the world. No other evidence was ever produced.
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