Bunyip

Story

Bunyips are fierce creatures that live in deep water and are to be feared and respected.

Why we chose it

The bunyip is a mythical creature found across Australia who appears in a number of Dreamtime stories.

Where it came from

The Bunyip has its origin in Dreamtime stories. Bunyips are nocturnal, semi-aquatic and live in swamps, lagoons and billabongs. They can be medium sized to large (or very large), have baleful eyes and a bellowing voice. They look like nothing else on earth and can appear odd or nightmarish so to describe them is difficult. Some have the head of a calf and the body of a seal, others look like a combination of an alligator with an emu’s head, others like a hippopotamus with walrus tusks and wallaby hind legs. Whatever their shape, be wary of being out in the darkness near water. They will creep up on you stealthily and silently and devour you whole.

Bunyips are said to be mythological monsters but accounts of sightings stretch from far north Queensland to Tasmania. Stories of Bunyips were told to warn children not to go near water alone for fear being eaten but also to teach respect for the river.

Where it went next

When Europeans first settled in Australia they viewed the Bunyip as an actual animal – Australia was full of creatures they had never seen before – the bunyip was simply one they hadn’t yet seen. From Victorian times Bunyips found their way into white Australian and European stories. Andrew Lang includes a bunyip story in The Brown Fairy book and the twentieth century has seen a number of children’s picture books like, Gloop the Gloomy Bunyip (1962) by Colin Thiele and John Bailey and The Bunyip of Berkeley’s Creek (1980) by Jenny Wagner and Ron Brooks