Cryptozoology Buckley's Bunyip

[speedybundy]

William Buckley's account of bunyips, 1852
Another early written account is attributed to escaped convict William Buckley in his 1852 biography of thirty years living with the Wathaurong people. His 1852 account records "in... Lake Moodewarri [now Lake Modewarre] as well as in most of the others inland...is a...very extraordinary amphibious animal, which the natives call Bunyip." Buckley's account suggests he saw such a creature on several occasions. He adds, "I could never see any part, 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... I could never learn from any of the natives that they had seen either the head or tail."[40] Buckley also claimed the creature was common in the Barwon River and cites an example he heard of an Aboriginal woman being killed by one. He emphasized the bunyip was believed to have supernatural powers.


Not sure if there is any point debating the existence of the Bunyip, but more to the point what could he have confused the sighting of a Bunyip with?

 

[Pie in the Sky]

Isn't a 'full grown calf' a cow?

Bit of a weird one, can't really think of anything it could be. Maybe Buckley just started seeing what the Aborigines saw after 30 years with them?

 

[van peebles]

Isn't a 'full grown calf' a cow?

Bit of a weird one, can't really think of anything it could be. Maybe Buckley just started seeing what the Aborigines saw after 30 years with them?

funny a lot of things the kooris said that were disbelieved are since proved correct.
cant explain this one though.
although buckley did make one giant interpreting error,it cost many lives in the cape otway kooris
so that accounts for one error

 

[speedybundy]

funny a lot of things the kooris said that were disbelieved are since proved correct.
cant explain this one though.
although buckley did make one giant interpreting error,it cost many lives in the cape otway kooris
so that accounts for one error

That's the one when he mistaked one word for another wasn't it? Can't remember what the words were though

You almost wonder if it could have been a spiritual thing, bit of a long shot though but hey!

 

[van peebles]

That's the one when he mistaked one word for another wasn't it? Can't remember what the words were though

You almost wonder if it could have been a spiritual thing, bit of a long shot though but hey!

when he misunderstood the colac kooris saying that over in the otways the tribes were extraordinary tough
he thought they said canabalistic and when the soldiers went down there with buckleys words ringing in thier ears they were prepared to get rid of them
and did,the massacre was driven by men on horseback with rifles and sabres
no challenge really
kill the locals and build your lighthouse wherever you want

 

[bkozican]

I did a school exam on the bunyip. Everybody else did reports on greek gods .

The ol' Bunyip aka the waterhole killer. From what I remember the natives were seriously scared of this thing

 

[Smokeyr67]

I did a school exam on the bunyip. Everybody else did reports on greek gods .

The ol' Bunyip aka the waterhole killer. From what I remember the natives were seriously scared of this thing

Would it be possible that the fear (legend) stemmed from crocodiles? Perhaps stories filter down from the north? Another option is huge Murray Cod, in the old days they used to get to huge proportions, enough to drag a child down *and possibly an adult)

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

My ex who is indigenous and who spent many years living in the bush swears she saw a Bunyip as a child. She is adamant.

 

[Pie in the Sky]

Descriptions of 'bunyips' vary a lot between areas, probably a combination of things. Before the rivers were regulated it was possible for some animals to move right up into the Murray Darling system from the sea, an out of place seal would cause some confusion if you've never seen one. Aboriginal legends could also come from animals that have become extinct since they settled here.

 

[bkozican]

Would it be possible that the fear (legend) stemmed from crocodiles? Perhaps stories filter down from the north? Another option is huge Murray Cod, in the old days they used to get to huge proportions, enough to drag a child down *and possibly an adult)

I guess that is possible I have never thought of that. From memory they would not go near water holes after dark. Noises were reported and I'm pretty sure that their was reports of people being taken. I dont think it was crocs. Only because the aborginals are familiar with this animal. A huge murray cod..........you might be on to something

 

[van peebles]

Descriptions of 'bunyips' vary a lot between areas, probably a combination of things. Before the rivers were regulated it was possible for some animals to move right up into the Murray Darling system from the sea, an out of place seal would cause some confusion if you've never seen one. Aboriginal legends could also come from animals that have become extinct since they settled here.

murray cod=mmm could be
seals=been found kilometres inland for unexplained reasons
vets recently called to a seal in a farmers paddock next to a road outside of warrnambool,its not the first time.but inland kooris would find the animal and noise it makes very strange.
also in the alligator river nt,180 kilomatres inland have been sharks,seals and manatou

 

[Smokeyr67]

I guess that is possible I have never thought of that. From memory they would not go near water holes after dark. Noises were reported and I'm pretty sure that their was reports of people being taken. I dont think it was crocs. Only because the aborginals are familiar with this animal. A huge murray cod..........you might be on to something

I was just thinking crocs because the stories could be passed from tribe to tribe, and allowing for distance, time and language difference is would be a bit of a case of chinese whispers

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

The description I was given was that it was in broad daylight, and this thing breached the water with its back. It had two lumps though, almost like how people envisage a sea monster, but it had scales like a reptile, and also fur. This was in the Murray-Goulburn river area called Cummeragunja Reserve where she lived at the time, during the 80's.

It's odd though that in the US a legend like the Bigfoot carries on for so long and is still followed, yet most Australians are quite flippant about the existence of anything like a bunyip possibly being here.

 

[Pie in the Sky]

The description I was given was that it was in broad daylight, and this thing breached the water with its back. It had two lumps though, almost like how people envisage a sea monster, but it had scales like a reptile, and also fur. This was in the Murray-Goulburn river area called Cummeragunja Reserve where she lived at the time, during the 80's.

It's odd though that in the US a legend like the Bigfoot carries on for so long and is still followed, yet most Australians are quite flippant about the existence of anything like a bunyip possibly being here.

There are very few bunyip sightings these days, something like that hiding in our relatively small waterways is pretty hard to believe. That's certainly a weird sighting though, not sure what to think.

 

[speedybundy]

My ex who is indigenous and who spent many years living in the bush swears she saw a Bunyip as a child. She is adamant.

Don't mean any offense, but how reliable is she/how old was she at the time if you know?

 

[Strapping Young Lad]

Don't mean any offense, but how reliable is she/how old was she at the time if you know?

She would've been between 8-10 when she saw it,

 

[speedybundy]

She would've been between 8-10 when she saw it,

Probably just past the age where she'd purely imagine something like that then, hmmmm!