A Legend Of The Great Flood : A LEGEND OF THE GREAT FLOOD In the dream-time, a terrible drought swept across the land. The leaves of the trees turned brown and fell from the branches, the flowers drooped their heads and died, and the green grass withered as though the spirit from the barren mountain had breathed upon it with...
Why Blackfellows Never Travel Alone. A Legend : WHY BLACKFELLOWS NEVER TRAVEL ALONE A LEGEND OF THE WALLAROO AND WILLY-WAGTAIL Alone, on a rocky ridge high in the mountains, a wallaroo made his camping-ground beneath the shady boughs of a mountain ash. He was very old and infirm, and too weak to hunt for food, so he sat by his camp fire all...
The Flying Chip : THE FLYING CHIP. One day the brothers were out hunting. The younger brother had climbed a tree, and -was cutting out a white wood grub, when a chip from his axe went whizzing through the air and fell near the elder brother, who was standing at the foot of the tree. When Byama descended the tree...
Why The Fish Hawk Was Driven To The Sea : WHY THE FISH-HAWK WAS DRIVEN TO THE SEA One day a Fish-hawk decided to catch some fish in a waterhole close to his camping ground. He gathered some bitter bark in the bush and placed it in the water. He knew that the bitter taste of the water would make the fish sick, and they would flo...
Introduction : Some Myths and Legends of the Australian Aborigines INTRODUCTION When the white man first carried the burden and blessing of civilization to the shores of Australia, he found the land inhabited by a very primitive race of people. They lived simple lives, and their activities were confined...
Why The Crow Is Black : WHY THE CROW IS BLACK One day, a crow and a hawk hunted together in the bush. After travelling together for some time, they decided to hunt in opposite directions, and, at the close of the day, to share whatever game they had caught. The crow travelled against the sun, and at noonday arrived...
Why The Emu Has Short Wings And The Native : WHY THE EMU HAS SHORT WINGS AND THE NATIVE COMPANION A HARSH VOICE An emu with very long wings once made her home in the sky. One day she looked over the edge of the clouds, and down on the earth she saw a great gathering of birds dancing by a reed-grown lagoon. High in a gumtree the bell birds...
Giant Kangaroos : GIANT KANGAROOS. Next day, the brothers changed themselves into giant kangaroos, and decided to kill Thoorkook and his savage dogs. They hopped about in sight of Thoorkook's camp, and, when the dogs scented them, they gave chase. With great bounds the kangaroos hopped away, and the dogs followed...
Title Page : SOME MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES BY WILLIAM JENKYN THOMAS WHITCOMBE & TOMBS LIMITED Melbourne, Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington and London. 1923. Scanned. Completed February 5th, 2000. J.B. Hare, Redactor. Reformatted August 7, 2003. The Copyright Status Of This Text...
A Legend Of The Sacred Bullroarer : A LEGEND OF THE SACRED BULLROARER The Bullroarer is a primitive instrument used by the aborigines at initiation and other ceremonies. It is a thin oblong section of wood, attached to a length of string through a hole at one end. When it is swung rapidly through the air it produces a peculiar...
How Fire Was Stolen From The Red Crested Cockatoo : HOW FIRE WAS STOLEN FROM THE RED-CRESTED COCKATOO Ages ago--in the dream-time--many of the beautiful birds and timid animals now living in the bush were men. One day, towards sunset, a tribe of blacks were returning from the hunt, when they met a very old man carrying a long spear and an empty...
Mirragan, The Fisherman. A Tale Of The Wollandilly : MIRRAGAN, THE FISHERMAN A TALE OF THE WOLLANDILLY RIVER, WHAMBEYAN AND JENOLAN CAVES. NOTE.--The Jenolan are wonderful subterranean caves of limestone formation, situated in the Blue Mountains, New South Wales. They are set in the midst of wild and rugged mountain scenery, where rivers wind away...
The Story Of The Seven Sisters And The Faithful : THE STORY OF THE SEVEN SISTERS AND THE FAITHFUL LOVERS In the dream time, many ages ago, the cluster of stars which we now know as the Pleiades, or the Seven Sisters, were seven beautiful ice maidens. Their parents were a great rugged mountain whose dark head was hidden in the clouds...
The Great Fight : THE GREAT FIGHT. The two men stood facing each other some distance apart; each held a long spear poised for throwing in one hand, while in the other was held a wooden shield which partly covered his body. At a given signal from the younger brother the fight commenced. The spears flew through...
Why The Whale Spouts, The Starfish Is Ragged : WHY THE WHALE SPOUTS, THE STARFISH IS RAGGED, AND THE NATIVE BEAR HAS STRONG ARMS Many years ago, when this old world was young, all the animals now living in Australia were men. At that time, they lived in a distant land across the ocean, and, having heard of the wonderful hunting grounds...
Thugine, The Rainbow And The Wandering Boys : THUGINE, THE RAINBOW AND THE WANDERING BOYS Far to the west in the deep blue sea there dwells a great serpent named Thugine. His scales are of many shimmering colors. When a rainbow appears in the sky, it is Thugine curving his back and the sun reflecting the colors of his scales. Many years ago...
How The Kangaroo Got A Long Tail : HOW THE KANGAROO GOT A LONG TAIL, AND THE WOMBAT A FLAT FOREHEAD Many years ago, Mirram the kangaroo and Warreen the wombat were both men. They were very friendly, and hunted and lived together in the same camping-ground. Warreen had a very comfortable gunyah made of bark and soft leaves, but...
How The Sun Was Made. Dawn, Noontide And Night : HOW THE SUN WAS MADE DAWN, NOONTIDE AND NIGHT. When the emu egg was hurled up to the sky it struck a great pile of wood which had been gathered by a cloud man named Ngoudenout. It hit the wood with such force that the pile instantly burst into flame, and flooded the earth with the soft, warm light...
How The Stars Were Made. Rolla Mano : HOW THE STARS WERE MADE ROLLA-MANO AND THE EVENING STAR. Rolla-Mano was the old man of the sea. The blue ocean, with all its wonderful treasures of glistening pearls, white foam and pink coral, belonged to him. In the depths of the sea, he ruled a kingdom of shadows and strange forms, to which...
Why Flying Foxes Hang From Trees. A Legend : WHY FLYING FOXES HANG FROM TREES A LEGEND OF THE STRIPED-TAIL LIZARD. The Flying Fox and the Striped-tail Lizard were friends. They lived in the same gunyah and hunted together. One day the lizard said: "I will visit a tribe of blacks with whom I am very friendly, and bring back a bundle of spears...
How The Native Bear Lost His Tail : HOW THE NATIVE BEAR LOST HIS TAIL The native bear and the whip-tail kangaroo were very friendly. They shared the same gunyah, and hunted together, and were very proud of their long tails. At this time a drought was over the land. Water was very scarce, and the two friends had camped by a shallow...
