The Casey’s Pet Croc

In the calm, early summer breeze just outside of the sugarcane town of Proserpine in North Queensland, John Casey is calling out next to a shallow, green pool: “Come on, Charlene. Come out, girl.”

He’s been fussing next to the water on his property in anticipation of a visitor in the mid-morning cool, trying to coax out his family pet: a three-metre estuarine crocodile.

A whole generation of youngsters in the Whitsundays region might not know the story of the ‘Real Crocodile Dundee’ and the salty named Charlene that he raised for more than 40 years.

One of very few crocodiles in Queensland still exempt from laws that forbid ownership of the protected species, old Charlene has lived quite a life.

She’s been a socialite: invited to parties across the state, hopping on bar tops, and cruising up the coast in her family’s station wagon, as well as a source of extreme pride for the man who raised her, Alf Casey.

John’s father – who passed the saltwater reptile onto his son in his will – had a point to prove when he received the croc as a gift in 1963.

“Dad got her off a croc hunter years ago; [the hunter] had shot the mother. He gave him three eggs and she was the only one to survive,” his son, John, said.

“He wanted to quiet a crocodile down, tame her, because people said it was impossible to be done.”

It’s safe to say that Alf Casey gave raising the croc a fair crack.

Charlene, now 59-years-old, was once a regular sight on Proserpine Main Street – Alf would walk side by side with her down to local pubs: “She’s been to every pub from Rockhampton to Cairns”, and she became a sibling for his son, John, who himself has lived with the croc since it was a hatchling.

She’ll potentially live for another 60 years, and John has already listed the crocodile in his own will.

But her tenure as the Casey’s pet hasn’t been all fun and games, or without incidence.

Just over three decades ago – serendipitously coinciding with the release of the hit film Crocodile Dundee - Charlene bit off John’s dad’s hand.

“He never blamed her. He said it was always his fault – he broke the routine they had when he was showing her to some people one day,” John said.

“She grabbed his hand, thinking he had a fish, the people he was with grabbed him and she just rolled.”

It’s strange to have a pet that could one day choose you for supper, but for John, it’s just part of the routine.

“The grandkids come over and they used to be very keen to see her, but now it’s just: ‘Yep, Grandad has a crocodile’,” John said.

“It’s just business as usual. Even more for me; she’s been here all my life.”

For Proserpine’s old timers, Charlene is just part of the town’s rich history – a “Proserpine Icon”, as John said.

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John Casey has lived with his father’s – now his – pet crocodile for 59 years

Charlene is a “Proserpine Icon” and a part of the town’s rich history

She was a regular at the pub in a much different Queensland than today

Images: Declan Durrant/Supplied