| Australian Folklore and Australian Legends
Posted: 5/12/2008 12:20:53 AM | A lighthearted Australian thread for information, debate and a giggle:
Since I have been in Australia, I had to listen to stories about real and fabled Australian creatures. Sometimes I had trouble to differentiate between real stories, like real animals unique to Australia, and made up ones that are - I suppose - part of Australian Folklore.
Folklore is the body of expressive culture, including tales, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, customs, and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions (including oral traditions) of that culture, subculture, or group. [I]Wikipedia[/I]
Having been dragged along for camping trips in the Australian bush, and then when something went wrong, everybody explaining to stupid me that the drop bear that lived up on trees was responsible for that.
Horror stories about the saltwater crocodile doing its death roll were told.
Stories about spiders, snakes and even large flightless birds that can kill ignorant overseas tourists.
Kiwis were small solitary birds that lived in the undergrowth and competed with kangaroos for territory. To protect the precious kiwis, kangaroos were sent to a so called kangaroo court where they were just culled.
When everybody was sleeping the camp was visited by the maroon marbled mynx, a wild cat that had more than just seven lives and wee’d on our toothbrushes and in the vegemite jar while we were asleep - I was told.
The only way of telling in the morning was by the smell.
So I never left my toothbrush out overnight, just to be sure, and luckily didn’t enjoy vegemite anyway.
Australians, in their jovial way kept telling me new stories and additions, always mixing truth with yarn.
I could never really tell the difference.
Sitting around the camp fire at night and hearing a noise in the bushes was supposedly a brush turkey - or a so called big bellied wombat.
It was attracted by the fire and followed the marbled mynx around and apart from its flatulence was harmless.
This was handy for some because we had baked beans for dinner.
Nobody could say that night where the bad smell came from for sure.
The next day I saw two 'lumps' high up in a tree beside a hill.
"drop bears ?" - "No, one is just a lump in a tree, the other is a koala."
"what if its a drop bear?" - "naahmy dear, you have to giv'em the benefit of a doubt!"
I still would have liked to just shake the tree and see what falls out.
So, has anybody got some good Australian folklore, fabels and legends to tell they have heard and which of those stories are real which are just fake ? | |
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| Australian Folklore and Australian Legends
Posted: 5/12/2008 12:50:13 AM | Ah OP you have yet to mention the dreaded and feared Bunyip....however Im not Australian enough to impart this story to you...I will let others tell this tale who will do it more justice that this American born poster could do...but its kinda scarey !!!
And then theres the legendary story known in all cultures of a car that breaks down in the bush/woods/forest/ at nite, with the couple in it and he volunteers to walk back to wherever to phone for help (tale quite old as it stars no mobiles) only for the girl to sit there waiting for him to return and at some point comes in contact with some psycho madman on top of the car with her lovers head on top of a stick, banging it down on the roof of the car...details differ from culture to culture but its a story shared all over the world..I do wonder though if there was any truth to it ever ?
Post number two for the day. | |
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| Australian Folklore and Australian Legends
Posted: 5/12/2008 4:48:50 AM |
even large flightless birds that can kill ignorant overseas tourists.
Cassowaries are real, lethal and according to wikipedia, based on actual occurences, one of the most dangerous animals kept in zoos. We are warned about them, even well out of their territory.
Drop bears, whilst not as real, are much more fun for tormenting tourists. | |
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| Australian Folklore and Australian Legends
Posted: 5/12/2008 5:23:41 AM | " . . . maroon marbled mynx, a wild cat that had more than just seven lives . . . "
Yep, i have heard of those too - must be real.
Crazytimes, you ever seen one out in the bush, and if yes, what do you do? | |
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| Australian Folklore and Australian Legends
Posted: 5/12/2008 6:02:30 AM | | Personally, no. I have heard stories though, including people being issued live ammo as well as blanks for exercises up north to deal with the flora and fauna. Fauna mostly, not much of our flora is really life threatening. | |
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| Australian Folklore and Australian Legends
Posted: 5/12/2008 9:48:38 PM |
Cassowaries are real, lethal and according to wikipedia, based on actual occurences, one of the most dangerous animals kept in zoos. We are warned about them, even well out of their territory.
I lived on a croc farm, had crocs smack in my back yard, but of all animals to be feared was the cassowaries. they were directly behind my p!ssy fence. . they are just hatred personified those birds. | |
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| Australian Folklore and Australian Legends
Posted: 6/4/2008 1:46:39 AM | Drop bears are actually garden variety koalas.
They occasionally get stoned on the gum leaves that they eat. then, when some camper lights a fire under theri tree the smoke makes them drowsier still and they drop out of the tree, often right smack onto the camp fire. | |
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| Australian Folklore and Australian Legends
Posted: 6/4/2008 3:21:12 AM | what about the racehorse goanna? Have` nt you heard about the Irish guy who is still chasing it... Has anyone ever tried to outrun one, and lived to admit it beat him/her/it?.
we don`t seem to have any stories about the koala`s in Western Australia, not wild ones, as the one `s at Yanchep Inne, were re-turned to the wild from a colony in South Australia, which was ravaged by fire then turned into a mine site, on purpose! Because the native trees that they live on are`nt really native to Western Australia.
the Western Australia Christmas tree is`nt really..... the colourful flowers you see on the coastal trees with that name are actually a type of misteltoe, that adhers to the trees and takes over . Those orange coloured flowers you see on the trees you on the coastal plains on the way to Geraldton I mean.. | |
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| Australian Folklore and Australian Legends
Posted: 6/4/2008 3:31:53 AM | I still love the bunyip that lives near the billabongs  Come along night time i dont think many would camp by the billabong 
Then there is always the yowie that lives in the bush  | |
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| Australian Folklore and Australian Legends
Posted: 6/4/2008 3:52:07 AM | Ever noticed how gullible Americans are??
I was 'entertaining' some American soldiers one night with tales of our yearly 'Outback Showdowns'. I told them how we pit Kangaroos against Crocodiles and they fight to the death. Made up a whole story about how the Kangaroos can box and kick but it isn't really a fair fight cos the crocodiles are lower to the ground and have bigger teeth. The more detail I went into, the more they ate it up.
I also told them that 'Drop Bears' jump from trees and attack people and the best way to keep them away is to have a mate wee on you.
Hmmm, what else was there......
Oh and I told them that emu's will run beside your car and race you.
And the kicker, I also told them that the AFL teams are looking at recruiting Kangaroos cos they can actually play football. I have a mate who had a Kangaroo that used to try to catch a football that was thrown to him. We took a pic of this that actually made it look like the Roo had caught the ball and I showed that to them as proof.
Well, it kept me entertained.... | |
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| Australian Folklore and Australian Legends
Posted: 6/4/2008 5:42:00 AM |
I was 'entertaining' some American soldiers one night
I'm sure you were! Sorry, it wouldn't have caught my attention if it wasn't for the "entertaining" being quoted like that. Makes it look sus. :D
Anyway, yeah, Americans are easy to fool. We lived in America for a while and my dad actually convinced some that "Km" meant "Kangaroo Miles". Km was Kangaroo Miles. Just km (small k) was Koala Miles. There are 10 Koala Miles to a Kangaroo Mile. They ate it up. | |
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| Australian Folklore and Australian Legends
Posted: 6/4/2008 6:01:31 AM | | Don't forget the min min lights that chase you all over the outback. Also I have heard stories from a number of areas about an animal like a black panther. | |
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| Australian Folklore and Australian Legends
Posted: 6/4/2008 6:11:39 AM |
I was 'entertaining' some American soldiers one night
My first thought was Tania Zaetta hehehe.
I remember back in the 80's there were reports of a yowie/bigfoot in NSW around the blue mountains, that went on for a few years.
Also around the Gisborne/Kyneton area there were many reports of a black cat/panther, one of my relos seen it and she even made the papers with her story.... It's yet to be found though. | |
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| Australian Folklore and Australian Legends
Posted: 6/4/2008 6:24:00 AM | what ?? no tangalene tiger??? god knows what it is but a neighbour of mine has been scaring the hell out of campers for years with the story.....he even made a gadget that makes a convincing howl lol
ooops sorry mate ! just let the tiger out of the bag!! | |
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| Australian Folklore and Australian Legends
Posted: 6/4/2008 11:17:41 AM | Its quite true that emus will race alongside your car, but if you get them on the road in front of you, racing ahead, you can control them but tooting the horn at them if they attempt to veer either side of the road while attempting to get away from you! Been there, done it.
Quite a few years ago, in the 1970s we lived down in the Ravensthorpe area ( yeah before we moved to Mount Marshall) and there was a very long drought between 1975/7, so thousands of emus moved down the state via the rabbit proof fence, from the North. This was in the days that they had guys keeping it proofed, patrolling it to make sure it was kangaroo proofed as well. Mending the holes that sheep made as well, attempting to bore their way through ( sheep are very dumb animals, and in the dark will attempt to just walk through fences if they are startled by dingoes or the dogs that roam around various townsites and farms at night) that does happen!
About the only sport the truckies had then was anhililating the emus on the roads at night, because they can be dazzled by the head light of a truck, especially the long haul trucks which use the lights from air craft as fog lights ( the orange colour diffuses the fog and makes it easier to be seen through) we were forever being asked or told that some emus were on the side of the road, still alive, so the Agricultural vermin control officers and the poor Mr Plod were forever having to go out and shoot the buggas, or pull out a white road marker pole and knock them on the head if we were caught out without a rifle.
but this was in the days when people did`nt care about the Australian animals on the flag of our country.   | |
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| Australian Folklore and Australian Legends
Posted: 6/5/2008 4:12:16 AM | Yep DND, that's what made me think of it. We were on the Strezlecki heading up to Innamincka and an emu suddenly ran in front of the car, then kinda turned and ran in front of it for ages. In the end we came to a bit of a bend and we turned while the emu ran straight ahead into the bush.
And yes guys, I was 'Entertaining' the Soldiers. If I was Tania Zaetta it would have been completely different...I would have been there and they would have been Diggers
Seriously tho, what else do you call it when there's a dozen guys sitting around a computer?? A D&M?? | |
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| Australian Folklore and Australian Legends
Posted: 6/5/2008 9:38:27 AM | While two lads were out enjoying a cruise around a lake in their father's speed boat, they inadvertantly run aground in the mud not too far from the shoreline. Knowing that they screwed up they called their father immediately.
He said " How far from shore are you?"
Kids - "About 50 meters."
Dad - "How deep is the water?"
Kids - "About waist deep."
Dad-" Get out of the boat and slowly walk to shore. When you reach dry land take off running as fast as you can. Don't look back, don't slow down just keep running 'till you get to the road and I'll be there in 5 minutes. Look for my truck"
The dad gets in his truck an tears off at breakneck speed 'till he reaches the stretch where his kids should be. He finally spots them walking down the road and let's them in the truck.
" What's the deal dad, why all the panic?"
They drive off the road down to the water's edge where the disabled boat starts to appear in the headlights. The calm waters seem safe enough just as he clicks on the brights. Suddenly, just beyond the boat a hundred pairs of crocodile eyeballs appear glaring back at them just above the surface illuminated by the highbeams as they slowly swim toward the boat.
This story that I heard last year has enough ring of truth in it to creep me out. I suppose it could be a common tale of lore from down under. I'm just a poor wayfaring stranger wandering through this world of woe. | |
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| Australian Folklore and Australian Legends
Posted: 6/15/2008 6:13:09 AM | I still love the bunyip that lives near the billabongs
===========================
Science is actually researching that one and they think that the original bunyip may have been the Diproditon. A prehistoric marsupial some six foot at the shoulder, that was still aroudn when the first aborigines arrived in Australia. Not as big as the gian ground sloth in America but big enough. | |
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