Bunyip
Bunyip
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Devouring any animal or human venturing near their home, it is said that women are their favourite prey, most likely because they are more defenceless.
There is no absolute description of Bunyips recorded. They have varied from animal to spirit form. Often the Bunyip has been described as a gorilla-type animal, varying to half human half animal and also as a spirit. The shape, size and colour of the Bunyip varies as much as it's description. Some have reported seeing the Bunyip similar to a fish, with the Bunyip having scales. Another with fur. Some have reported it as having fur, others with feathers. One witness reported seeing the Bunyip as similar to an Elephant, even down to the trunk. One report states the Bunyip as being similar to a giraffe, with its long necks and tail. Others claim to have spotted the Bunyip as having claws and horns. No physical evidence has actually been proven, although scientists suggest that they could have been a Diprotodon, which became extinct about 20,000 years ago. The natives were so frightened by this being, this Bunyip, that even after its extinction, they were too afraid to venture near waterholes. Their dreamtime stories were full of horror and death making it a much feared creature.
When white settlers started to befriend the Aborigines, they were told about this fearsome creature. Settlers were also warned about going near any waterholes at night, or near any known haunts of the Bunyip. Many times when the settler was out in the bushland at night, hearing strange, loud noises, they were sure that the Bunyip was out there, waiting to attack them. The existence of Bunyips was taken very seriously by the white settler.
It is thought the Bunyip legend originated from the era of 1932, during The Great Depression which was happening at this time. Often people would roam into the wilderness trying to avoid the hardships which fell upon many during this time. Some were escaping the law, others were simply travelling through this magnificent country. If the person was hiding from the law, or trying to escape the hardships, often when they heard some-one approaching they would hide. Many hid in the shrubbery, but some also hid in the swamps or lakes. To do this, they would create a snorkel made of bone through which they would breathe. Many times, thinking that their visitors had gone, they would emerge from the water covered with mud and slime. Screaming upon seeing the other person still there, the intruder naturally thought they had stumbled upon a Bunyip. As for the Bunyip having a taste for women above men or animals, it could be explained that the men having been alone for some length of time, took a fancy to the passing woman.
In the coastal town of Geelong, Victoria there was a report in July of 1845 of the finding of unfossilised bone on the banks of a small river. Apparently the bone formed part of the knee joint of an enormous animal. It was reported that a local Aboriginal person was shown the paper where he identified it straight away as a Bunyip bone. He then proceeded to draw a picture of the Bunyip, which is reproduced here.
Yet another local Aboriginal was said to have shown several deep wounds on his breast which were made by the claws of a Bunyip he came across at the Barwon River.
There are several noted disappearances of persons from Lake Modewarre, which many say were the work of the Bunyip.
Many Australians now do not believe in the Bunyip and disregard it as being purely mythological. There are some though, who do still believe in the Bunyip. The Bunyip is quite the celebrity, being touted in children's books, as toys and even making it on to television shows and movies
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Aboriginal Legend of the Bunyip
Down in the billabong a head was concealed among the reeds. It remained so still that none of the wild creatures noticed it. Three ducks paddled past. In the darkness there was sudden movement. Two hands shot out and seized their legs, pulling the ducks under water and twisting their necks so quickly and silently that the third duck drifted away without knowing what had happened to the others.
The Frog man stood up, shivering a little in the cool night breeze. He tied the ducks to his girdle and was about to wade ashore, where his wife was waiting for him, when he saw a vast grey shape loom out of the swamp. It was a Bunyip, the dreadful monster of marsh and billabong.
The young man did not waste his breath in shouting. He waded through the shallow water in frenzied haste towards the bank. His wife had also seen the Bunyip.
'Give me the ducks,' she called as he came closer.
He handed them up to her, scrambled on to the bank, and lay down, panting for breath.
'There's no time to wait here,' she said. 'The monster is getting closer.'
'Wait till I get my breath,' he gasped.
'Come on,' she urged him. 'The Bunyip will get us if you don't hurry.'
She pulled him to his feet, but as she did so the Bunyip stretched out his long arm, and his claws closed round her body. Her husband caught her by the arm and tried to save her, but the Bunyip lifted her up, tucked her under his arm, and disappeared into the darkness.
The man was desperate. He plunged into the water and waded through the rushes, but they had closed behind the monster, leaving no trace of his passage.
As soon as it was light next morning the Frog man gathered a supply of the little creatures who were his totem and tied them to a long pole which he stuck in the mud. They cried and croaked miserably, waving their arms and legs in a struggle to free themselves.
'That will fetch the Bunyip,' the Frog man thought. He was crouching among the reeds with his war spear beside him, ready to thrust it into the Bunyip as soon as it appeared. The hours passed slowly. The only thing he could see was the wriggling of the frogs' legs. The daylight faded, and through the night the croaking of the frogs grew fainter. By morning they were all dead. Sadly he untied them, caught some more, and tied them to the pole. The air was filled with the fresh babble of sound as he went to his camp to sleep.
When he returned that night the frogs were gone, and the pole lay on its side among the reeds. With fresh hope he caught a further supply, erected the pole again, tied the frogs in place, and sat down to wait.
Morning after morning the Frog man baited his trap, but never once did he catch sight of the Bunyip. It was only when he could not keep his eyes open for lack of sleep that they were taken. But at length his patience was rewarded. It was early morning. The young husband was about to end his lonely vigil when a huge shape parted the veils of mist, and the Bunyip reached out his claws to take the frogs. Behind it the young woman followed with vacant eyes, dirty and unkempt, with her hair straggling down her face.
'Keep away,' her husband shouted, and threw his spear at the monster. It sank into the soft flesh so that only the end of the handle was showing. The Bunyip groaned and threw the frogs at its aggressor. One of them hit the Frog man in the eye, blinding him for a moment. He still had his throwing stick. He hurled it at the Bunyip, and had the satisfaction of seeing it disappear into one of the Bunyip's eyes. The creature turned round shrieking with pain, and blundered back the way it had come.
'Come to me, wife,' the Frog man implored. 'You will be safe with me.'
To his astonishment the young woman took no notice but followed the Bunyip into the mist. Her husband ran after her. There was no mistaking the trail now. With only one eye, the Bunyip slipped and fell, picked itself up and staggered on, leaving a trail of crushed vegetation behind it. The woman followed close at its heels, for the Bunyip had cast a spell over her which bound her closely to him.
They reached the far side of the billabong. The Bunyip heaved itself out of the water and began to climb a gum tree. It reached the top, sat on a branch, and glared down at the Frog man with its single baleful eye. The young woman stood at the foot of the tree as though petrified.
'You are safe now,' her husband said, holding out his arms. 'Come with me and we will return to our camp.'
She put out her arms, but could not move her feet, which appeared to be frozen to the ground.
He took a step towards her, and suddenly stood still. He had come within the circle of the power that bound his wife to the Bunyip, and was unable to move.
Day turned to night, night to day, rain storms swept across the billabong, the water rose and fell with the changing seasons, but still the little tableau remained by the gum tree. The petrified bodies of the Frog man and his wife stood like gaunt stumps of trees, with arms stretched out towards each other in longing, while far above them the single eye of the Bunyip glared from the leaves of the tree.
Then came a great storm which overthrew the gum tree. The eye remained where it was, but the spell was broken, and at last the couple were reunited. Their descendants will never touch the little frogs again. They leave them as food for the Bunyips so that the monsters of the swamp will not molest them.
And where the Murray River now flows, the blackfellows say that the moon is the eye of the Bunyip that once stole the wife of a Frog man of their tribe.
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Bunyip
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The bunyip ("devil" or "spirit") is a mythical creature from Australian Aboriginal mythology.
Characteristics
Descriptions of bunyips vary wildly. Common features in Aboriginal drawings include a horse-like tail, flippers, and walrus-like tusks. According to legend, they are said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes. At night their blood-curdling cries can be heard as they devour any animal or human that ventures near their abodes. Their favourite prey is human women. They also bring diseases.
Reality or myth?
During the early settlement of Australia, the notion that the bunyip was an actual unknown animal that awaited discovery became common. Early European settlers, unfamiliar with the sights and sounds of the island continent's peculiar fauna, regarded the bunyip as one more strange Australian animal, and sometimes attributed unfamiliar calls or cries to it. At one point, the discovery of a strange skull in an isolated area associated with these 'bunyip calls' seemed to provide physical evidence of the bunyip's existence.
In 1846 a peculiar skull was taken from the banks of Murrumbidgee River in New South Wales. In the first flush of excitement, several experts concluded that it was the skull of something unknown to science. In 1847 the so-called bunyip skull was put on exhibitin in the Australian Museum (Sydney) for two days. Visitors flocked to see it and the Sydney Morning Herald said that it prompted many people to speak out about their 'bunyip sightings' "Almost everyone became immediately aware that he had heard 'strange sounds' from the lagoons at night, or had seen 'something black' in the water." It was eventually concluded that it was a 'freak of nature' and not a new species. However, a final mystery remains- What happened to the 'bunyip skull'? It disappeared from the museum and has never been sighted since.
As European exploration of Australia proceeded, the bunyip increasingly began to be regarded as a mythical animal. The mysterious skull was later identified as that of a disfigured horse or calf. The expression 'why search for the bunyip?' emerged from repeated attempts by Australian adventurers to capture or sight the bunyip, the phrase indicating that a proposed course of action is fruitless or impossible.
Explanations
Although no documented physical evidence of bunyips has been found, it has been suggested that tales of bunyips could be Aboriginal memories of the diprotodon, or other extinct Australian megafauna which became extinct some 50,000 years ago. The cries of the possum or koala could likely be mistaken for the bunyip, as most people are surprised to find koalas or possums are capable of such loud roars. The Barking Owl, a nocturnal bird that lives around swamps and billabongs in the Australian bush is sometimes credited for making the sounds of the bunyip. It has been proven that the Barking Owl screams like a woman injured or in trouble and many Aboriginal stories relate this to the noise the bunyip makes. The Barking owl's call can vary to a child's scream also
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The Morton Bay Courier: 9th Feb, 1850.
[Before reading this next clip, we'll add a few comments. Both Tony Healy and myself visited this lagoon in 2001. The aerial view of the lagoon strangely resembles the Lochness monster! It really does! The lagoon is not as large now as it was in the 18th century, which in flood time linked with the Logan River. There were many sightings of this serpent-type creature by the property owners and workers over time - Mr. and Mrs. Savage who owned the property (been in the family for generations), held a detailed history log of all sightings over the past two hundred years and were very proud of the Homestead's history.
About a hundred years ago, due to the steep edges, an entire horse and wine filled cart was lost into the lagoon and was unable to be retrieved despite major efforts.
Modern day divers have attempted to reach the bottom of the lagoon, which is of an extraordinary and still unknown depth, however they failed. The locals now believe that this lagoon was a result of a meteor hundreds of years ago, due to that one side of the lagoon is seemingly 'lifted' in a direction, which resembles an impact. That would also explain the extreme depth that is yet to be discovered.
Aborigines of the day refused to go near the lagoon, and many people had drowned while swimming in the waterhole.
Late in 2001, Mr. and Mrs. Savage were approached by people 'out of the blue' one day, making an offer to purchase the property. The Savages', who always claimed the house would 'never' be for sale, refused. Then an amount was then offered that in their words "Nobody could ever refuse". Within weeks, the savages were gone and the neighbors tell us that the house is rarely used.]
Now for the story:
The Bunyip - or something like it. So many stories, credible and incredible, have lately been told of the appearance of the so-called "Bunyip," that the subject has become rather a delicate one to touch upon; but the following particulars concerning an aquatic monster seen about a fortnight ago on the station of T.L.M. Prior, Esq., J.P., at the Logan River, may be relied on, as coming from a persons entitled to the fullest credit. It appears that a lady, a member of Mr. Prior's family, was walking near a large lagoon at the head station, when she observed on the surface of the water a living animal of extra-ordinary shape and dimensions.
The head appeared to be elongated and flattened, like the bill of a Platypus. The body, from the place where it joined the head, about five feet backward, seemed like that of a gigantic eel, being of about the ordinary thickness of a man's body. Beyond this it was of much larger apparent size, having the appearance of being coiled into innumerable folds. Beyond those coils was what seemed to be the tail of the animal, which had somewhat the shape of the tail of a fish, but is described as having a semi-transparent appearance of a bladder. The head, which as small and narrow in proportion to the size of the body, was furnished with what seemed to be two horns, which were quite white. Under the circumstances it was, of course, difficult to judge accurately of the whole length of the animal, but, by comparison with the other objects, it is supposed that the parts visible above the water must have been thirty feet in extent.
The spectator of this strange sight, being naturally somewhat alarmed, made her way to the house, and returned to the spot accompanied by another lady and a servant woman. By this time the greater portion of the monster had disappeared beneath the surface of the water. The tail alone was visible, and sunk soon afterwards. From subsequent inquiries made by Mr. Prior, it appears that this lagoon has a long enjoyed reputation of being the home of a monster answering the above imperfect description, and which is stated to have been seen more than once by men on the station.
It is certain that the Aboriginal natives will not bathe in the lagoon, and that they have evinced much fear of something that they believe to be an inhabitant of the waters. The lagoon is, we are informed, nearly a mile in circumference, and of great depth. Mr. Prior has himself sounded in some parts of it to be the depth of ninety feet, without finding the bottom. There is, therefore, "ample space and verge enough" for more than one of these huge denizens of the still waters to live in retirement. Whatever may be the natural character and attributes of this extraordinary animal, we have hopes of their being shortly made known, for we are informed that a regular crusade is being organized against it, and every preparation made to secure it, if possible, dead or alive. We shall not fail to lat before our readers any further particulars that may be gathered upon this interesting subject.
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The strangest of the Australasian dragons is undoubtedly the bunyip; this swamp-dwelling dragon is perhaps one of the oldest alongside its serpentine kin, the Rainbow Serpent.
During the early settlement of Victoria (a state of Australia), tales of a terrible man-eating water monster were heard from natives far removed from one another (Buchler & Maddock, 1978). The consistencies in the many different tales were startling, and soon the bunyip had aroused the interest of the European settlers, who described the beast as a huge monster-dragon creature, with bull-like horns, a flat, pushed-in face with large cheeks, the body of an oversized cow tapering into a whale back half (Shuker, 2004).
This does not easily fit with the Aboriginal description of the swamp-dragon, who described the creatures as huge snakes with large eyes and long ears, while at other times they were depicted as dingo like animals (turudun) or as birds, particularly the emu (gourke) (Buchler & Maddock, 1978). Bunyips often assume forms of their own choosing, including enlarged variants of already existing Australian animals, to chimerical creatures, such as winged, flying fish (Reed, 1974). It is no surprise, then, that bunyips are renowned for their mismatched appearance; their body coverings encompass scales, fur and feathers (Buchler & Maddock, 1978).
While bunyips are known for their aggression, a few appear to have a rather placid temperament. One bunyip sighted in New South Wales (state above Victoria) during 1868 was pardoned of any viciousness by the witness who said, "it is all nonsense about it being a savage sort of brute" (Barnard, 2001, p. 16). Despite this, not all bunyips appear friendly. The creatures are known for eating humans, and often meat out severe punishments for wrongdoings.
Bunyips are endowed with many strange, esoteric powers; the boundaries of which remain unknown to humankind. These swamp-dwelling dragons use their well-developed power of metamorphosis to inflict damage on others, including the land, which they are known to flood in bouts of anger. This tells us a great deal about the bunyip?s attitude, and the inability they have of seeing that, in their own personal grief, they cause the undoing of others, including innocents.
One such tale tells of an Aboriginal boy who unwittingly captured a baby bunyip; after his feather?s entreaties to return the small creature which he obeyed, the boy and his family were turned into the first black swans, and their land was flooded (Shuker, 2004).
Bunyips also have the ability to turn people into stone, entrapping them for years in separation from their families (Reed, 1974). Their own viciousness has ensued a lasting place in Australian mythology; not only are they credited with altering the landscape, they have been involved in the creation of the three sisters (who as Aboriginal girls were known as Meenhi, Wimlah and Gunnedoo); having trapped them, their father was forced to turn them into stone (Ratcliff, 2004).
Preferring the cool secrecy of water, bunyips lair in waterholes and swamps, which they share an affinity with, using the water to flood or cause drought (Shuker, 2004). They can also be found in damp holes and caves where they lair harmlessly, until disturbed (Ratcliff, 2004).