Bunyip
Bunyip
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| Possible Bunyip sighting - Vic |
| The operators of a trout farm are offering a $1000 reward to anyone who catches Melbourne's own Loch Ness monster. A giant eel, believed to be around four metres long with a head the size of a football has been spotted at the trout farm at Warburton. It is believed the eel washed into the farm's ponds during this month's record breaking storms. Farm manager Gary Wales says efforts to catch the giant creature have so far been unsuccessful. "We don't want it harmed, this things probably 30-years-old, and he's come here probably by mistake and he's found himself a good little home and plenty of food," he said. "We hope to catch him alive and take him to the Melbourne Aquarium." He says he has never heard of such a large eel before. "No. Maybe it's Nessy, Nessy's offspring maybe, who knows, but no, it's a big eel." |
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William Buckley was an escaped convict who lived with Victorian Aboriginal people from 1803 to 1835. His experiences, which included bunyip sightings, were published in 1852:
I could never see any part [of the bunyip] except the back, which appeared to be covered with feathers of a dusky-grey colour. It seemed to be about the size of a full-grown calf ? When alone, I several times attempted to spear a Bun-yip; but had the natives seen me do so it would have caused great displeasure. And again, had I succeeded in killing, or even wounding one, my own life would probably have paid the forfeit; they considering the animal ? something supernatural.
John Morgan, The Life and Adventures of William Buckley, 1852
It was the explorer Hamilton Hume who gave credence to these stories. In April 1818, he found large bones from some unidentified creature near Lake Bathurst in New South Wales. Three years later the Philosophical Society of Australasia offered to pay Hume?s expenses if he would retrieve these bones for the Society to examine. His failure to return from this expedition has kept those bones a mystery to the present day. Perhaps they were prehistoric remains?
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The Bunyip
Mythical Beast, Modern-day Monster
By Matthew J. Eaton
The Aborigines Dreamtime stories of creation were full of fantastic and magical beasts; the Bunyip was one of the beasts. In Dreamtime the Bunyip was a spirit, which inhabited river, lakes, swamps, and billabongs (former parts of rivers that were left behind when the course of the river was altered). Like other beasts in Dreamtime, the Bunyip was malevolent towards human beings. The Bunyip would defend it's watery home from all who invaded it, normally devouring the invader. At night the Bunyip was said to go and prey upon women and children. Because the Bunyip was such a threat to the Aborigines of the time whenever its terrifying bellowing cry was heard Aborigines steered clear of any water sources.
To the Aborigines the Bunyip was a beast of many different shapes and sizes. Some Bunyips were covered in feathers; some even had scales like crocodiles. Common features in most Aboriginal drawings of Bunyips are a horse-like tail, flippers, and tusks like the ones found on walruses. Modern Bunyip
The settler's view of the Bunyip varies greatly from that of the Aborigines. Whereas the Dreamtime Bunyip was a fierce man-killer, the more modern view sees them are herbivorous grazing animals. The Aborigine's fear of Bunyip can probably be traced back to a known aquatic man-killer, the saltwater crocodile. Settlers also report two different kinds of Bunyips. The more common of the two has a dog-like face and a long shaggy coat. The second and more rare of the Bunyips is the reported to have a long maned neck, as well as a shaggy coat. As to not create confusion between the two Bunyips; the common Bunyip will be called the Dog-faced Bunyip, and the rarer Bunyip will be called the Long-necked Bunyip.
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The Bunyip
Survivor From the Dreamtime?
The bunyip is a creature from Dreamtime mythology of the Australian Aboriginal people. However that does not necessarily mean it does not exist. There have been a number of modern sightings of creatures that have been classified as possible bunyips. It is most definitely a potential cryptid.
According to the mythological accounts, the bunyip was a malevolent water spirit. Should anyone enter its lair - usually swamps and rivers - it would attack and devour them. The bunyip had a loud, terrifying cry and the aborigines would abandon any water source where this was heard.
The aboriginal version of the bunyip didn't seem to have a fixed appearance, possibly because of its nature as a spirit. Common features include a tail, flippers and tusks.
The Modern Bunyip
The bunyip stories from recent times paint a less fearsome picture. Instead of a maneater it is seen as a shy grazing creature.
Modern bunyip sightings were most common during the 19th century. There were also some sightings during the twentieth century, though these were less frequent. Two different types of bunyip have been reported: most modern bunyips are described as being "dog-faced", however a few sightings describe a long-necked creature with a pointed head. This is clearly a different creature.
What is the Bunyip?
If we assume that the modern bunyip sightings really are sightings of something, what is it? Not, we assume, a spirit.
As always in the field of cryptozoology a survivor from the dinosaur era is a strong contender. The suggestion is that perhaps a diprotodon could somehow have survived. The Australian diprotodon lived through the Pleistocene epoch and coexisted with the early humans. It is thought to have gone extinct between ten and fifty thousand years ago.
Another theory is that many modern "bunyip" sightings were simply fugitives in hiding or vagrants living wild. This rather less exciting theory would fit in with the increased number of bunyip sightings during the depression of the 1930s.
As to the Bunyip's fearsome cry, some have suggested that this could have been the cry of the koala or possum, creatures most people would normally consider mute.
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THE BURLEIGH BUNYIP | |||||||||||
In 1930, there were a number of reports of loud booming noises coming from the local swamp. The noises would sometimes stop for a couple of months, but they would eventually come back just as before. There were also reports of missing cattle and people who were assumed dead. When the white people heard of this they thought that the animal must be something unknown and so they created the name Bunyip. There were also many humorous stories and drawings in the local Gold Coast Bulletin. A thousand pound reward was offered to the person who found the Bunyip, dead or alive. As soon as the reward was offered people (usually those who had just come out of the pub) would go into the swamp in search for the Bunyip, hoping to become town heroes. One night (after a few beers) a couple of men decided to claim the reward. So off they went with a horse and cart into the wet land. This swamp was home for the swamp pheasants so as soon as the horse heard the eerie call of the swamp pheasants it bolted, wrecking the cart and leaving the men behind. The men were forced to spend all night trying to find their way home. In 1938 Charles Finamore, a sanitary contractor, repeatedly came across a ten foot long crocodile at the northern end of the Miami Swamp, which is very close to the local rubbish tip. He followed the footprints for around 2.5 kilometres and encounted the remains of a cow. The bones were scattered everywhere. He continued to follow the tracks which led into the Miami Swamp. People were unconvinced that the crocodile was their bunyip because at the time the man in charge of the Brisbane Museum said Maryborough was as far south as the crocodiles could go. However a similar crocodile was shot in the Logan River, about 40 kilometres north of Burleigh. This discovery proved that it was possible for the crocodiles to survive further south. Of course the Aborigines knew that the bunyip was a crocodile all along. The Bunyip story faded into myth as the area became more populated. What do you think? Could the Burleigh Bunyip still exist? | |||||||||||