Location: Burleigh, Queensland
Event: Yowie Sighting
Date: July, 1973
Time: 11pm
[Article from Malcolm Smith’s ‘Bigfoots and Bunyips: In Search of Australia’s Mystery Animals’ published by Millennium Books (1996) - Pages 156 & 157]
The Queensland Coast seems to have ‘Yowie’ periodically stepping out of the Hinterland into the public view. Before 1975, the term didn’t exist, so they called it a Bunyip.
Sixteen year old Alan Livingston of Melinda Street in Southport had heard the stories. They came into mind when, over several weekends, he had seen glowing eyes when driving past a spot on the TallebudgeraCreek Road. At that date this was just beyond the built up area. So, on Saturday 28 July 1973, he got together three friends, aged 15 to 19 (their names are on record) to investigate. They drove west of Fleay’s Fauna Sanctuary, over a hill, and stopped at a wooden bridge at the bottom near a gateway. It was now 11pm; they left the lights on, and soon they saw the eyes. All but the youngest got out of the car.
“As soon as we got near it, the bunyip – or whatever it was – came charging out of the trees towards us. It travelled at what seemed like a quick walk, moving its arms like a man. We could see the colour of its fur outlined in the lights from the cars headlights. But I couldn’t see a nose, teeth or ears – only eyes. We could hear the pad of its feet, but there was no noise. No grunts or growls, no heavy breathing. My heart started to beat real fast as he came for us. We were all scared and took off like rabbits for the car.”
They were no more than 4-1/2 to 6m away when the approach commenced. Its fur was reddish, and he estimated its height at 173cm.
However, Alan’s courage was not completely exhausted. He came back the following Wednesday with four mates, three of whom had not been there and were sceptics: “Then they saw the eyes and the shape of the thing climbing a tree”.
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