Dean Harrison and the Origins of Australian Yowie Research ®
Dean Harrison and AYR
Dean Harrison, the owner and founder of Australian Yowie Research (AYR), established the organisation in 1997 and is widely recognised as the world’s leading authority on the Yowie. Reflecting on his unexpected journey into this field, Dean states, “I never went looking for a Yowie. I didn’t know much about them. I was thrown into the deep end. They found me. I had no notion of becoming a Researcher, but they gave me no choice.” This perspective challenges the commonly held belief that “If you leave them alone, they’ll leave you alone,” which Dean describes as both naïve and factually incorrect.
Early Yowie Encounters
Dean’s first encounter with a Yowie occurred in 1995 while he was living at Eagle Heights, Mt Tamborine in the Gold Coast hinterland. The incident took place at 11pm upon his return home from work. His property, located on Kinabalu Drive, was a pole home bordering rainforest, a large swamp and steep cliffs. The Yowie made its presence known through deep, angry vocalisations—blood-curdling low sounds and grunts that far exceeded the capabilities of a human. The loud, bipedal footsteps in the swamp, the breaking of branches, the tearing and throwing of foliage, and the impact sounds as debris hit other trees and fell to the ground, all suggested a creature with two hands. These observations eliminated any known native Australian animal as the cause. Dean recalls a profound sense of dread triggered by the creature’s voice and behaviour. This entire event has been recounted in many of Dean’s interviews over the years.
Two years later, in June 1997, Dean experienced a dramatic and life-changing encounter just 16 kilometres away as the crow flies, or 35 kilometres by road. This event, which took place late at night while Dean was jogging through the bushland at Ormeau—halfway between the Gold Coast and Brisbane—was life-threatening. He believes that a last-minute decision to stop and make a phone call at the edge of the forest saved his life. The vocal capacity of this Yowie was identical to the one at Eagle Heights, and the display of strength and power was unlike anything Dean had ever experienced. This traumatic event, in which Dean was stalked and ultimately chased, led him to believe his life was in imminent danger. It was this incident that compelled Dean to seek answers and marked the beginning of Australian Yowie Research (AYR).
The Quest for Answers
Following these formative encounters, Dean embarked on a quest to understand more about the Yowie. Over his career, he has travelled extensively across Australia and overseas, documenting witness accounts, expanding his knowledge of the Yowie, and having numerous additional first-hand experiences with various personalities of this elusive species. Dean’s commitment to research has seen him participate in numerous documentaries, including a five-week expedition in South America and the Amazon Jungle with Discovery Channel, during which he faced life-threatening situations. He also trekked the Solomon Island mountains with local natives during the conflict with Harold Kikki and the rebels, once again narrowly escaping with his life.
Building the World’s Largest Yowie Database
Over the past 30 years, with the assistance of veteran Australian cryptozoologists Paul Cropper and Tony Healy, Dean has built the world’s largest Yowie database. This comprehensive resource includes sightings, stories and articles dating from the early 1800s to modern-day reports by both white and Indigenous Australians. The Australian Yowie Research (AYR) database is both expansive and impressive, and in February 2014, the Australian National Library and Trove requested and were granted a licence to preserve these files permanently.
Fieldwork and Research Expeditions
Dean and his team have responded to requests from property owners across the country, investigating many sites and conducting expeditions in state and national forests, both solo and in teams. Over four decades, they have interviewed hundreds of witnesses, resulting in many first-hand encounters and a significant accumulation of knowledge and experience. Expeditions during the late 1990s and 2000s became legendary for the frequency and intensity of encounters.
One of Dean’s most memorable periods of research occurred in 1998 and 1999 in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales. There, he made regular contact with a unique Yowie that appeared to enjoy playing “games” with him. According to Dean, “This happened various times over two years at the same location in Hazelbrook. He knew the sound of my vehicle and I would whistle the same tune each night so he was sure it was me. Then it was game on. He would test his skills on mine, repetitively trying to get as close as he could each time. He would even bring gifts he stole from people’s homes that backed onto the valley. If I had today’s equipment back then – it’s case solved. I would have had more footage than I knew what to do with, in a very short time.”
Significant Encounters and Discoveries
Another career highlight occurred on 2 January 2009, while Dean was researching at Kilkivan, Queensland. While camping with others, Dean was struck by a Yowie in the middle of the night. In his memoirs, he writes, “The only thing that saved me that night was the fact I wasn’t alone, and was fortunate to have people get to me as quickly as they did. Otherwise, I would have been another bush related missing person.”
On 7 January 2021, the group discovered a scat sample in the middle of a fast-running creek, deep in a gully at Springbrook, Queensland, early in the morning. The sample was sent for testing of the egg count (a registry of known native Australian animals) and DNA. Both tests returned results of an unknown species.
Another highlight came with the thermal Yowie footage filmed in Springbrook on 4 April 2021. Team member Buck Buckingham ventured away from their base camp and filmed two Yowies emerging from the rainforest late at night, footage which made world news. Additional footage from Hazelbrook, Kilkivan, Springbrook and Bellbird Grove has further strengthened the case for the Yowie’s existence.
Contributions to Cryptozoology and Media Presence
Dean Harrison and the AYR have played a significant role in building relationships within the cryptozoology community and providing support and counselling to numerous witnesses. Dean has invested over $100,000 in his own equipment and has sponsored many emerging researchers in their own pursuits. Together with Tony Healy and Paul Cropper, Dean and AYR created the world’s first website dedicated to recording and playing Yowie witness interviews—well before the advent of YouTube, Facebook or the established American Bigfoot community. This initiative encouraged many more witnesses to come forward with their own sightings.
Now hosting the Yowiehunters YouTube channel and podcasts, Dean has appeared extensively in Australian media, including domestic and international television, most radio stations, newspapers, magazines and several books. His television appearances include regular spots on the 9 Today Show, Today Show Extra, Brisbane Extra, Animal X, Seven News, Nine News, 10 News, Today Tonight, 7 Sunrise, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Unexplained with William Shatner, Paranormal Caught on Camera and many others. His work has also been featured in countless radio, magazine and newspaper articles.
Published Works
Dean Harrison’s research and contributions have been referenced in several books, including:
· The Yowie (Cropper and Healy, 2005)
· Oxford Dictionary – Aboriginal Words in English (Oxford, 2006)
· Big Cats (Land and Williams, 2012)
· Yowie Tales (Brett Green, 2012)
· The Yowie File (Cropper and Healy, 2022)
· Monsters, Myths & Mysteries (Paul Clacher, 2023)