Cleaning my way, what the heck

[Dirranbandi]

G'day Laidbackjack

Goanna Oil is an Australian product, originally based on oil derived from Goannas (Lizards) and used as a liniment for sore muscles.
The following is a snippet from a local Brisbane website:
"Joe Marconi was a showman who started a Goanna Oil business in Bulimba in 1910. He became a member of the Balmoral Shire Council in 1921 but was killed in a street brawl in Queen Street the following year. His family continued producing Goanna Oil products until the company was sold to Evan Murdoch in 1982. Production continues in Tennyson, although goannas are no longer used in the process."

Goanna Oil Liniment can still be purchased today - on-line pharmacies based in Australia are suppliers e.g. www.e-pharmacy.com.au

Cheers,

Dirranbandi

 

[LaidBackJack]

Lizard Oil!

G'day Dirranbandi,

Making lizard oil must have been a nasty job, I wonder if Australian lizard oil would be anything like American "Snake Oil" ?? My girlfriend lived on a sheep ranch somewhere near Sydney for a time back in the 70's, she says she remembers seeing big lizards but doesn't know if they were Goannas. The biggest lizards here in N.Calif. are midgets compared to your selection in Oz. Good thing, because whenever I dig in a dump around here I encounter lots of lizards, snakes, scorpions, millipedes, and other varmints, which if they were Ozzie versions would probably put me in the hospital....or worse. At least the rattlesnakes here usually give a warning, the rest are capable of zapping you but no worse than a bee-sting unless you're allergic to it. I will sometimes catch the snakes, if they are the right kind, and sell them to a guy I know who is a herpetologist. One time I found a two-headed garter snake! but it was recently dead. I still got $25 for it, & now it sits in a big mason jar full of formalin in my friend's living room. I know guys who go out in our "bush" and collect rattlers, milk them for their venom, and sell it for good money for making anti-venom. No thanks! I'll stick to treasure-hunting. Cheers, Frank