The Old Woman Who Stole Children
In the bush around Mansfield (on Taungurung country) there was a wicked old woman. She would find and keep captive those little children who wandered away from their family's camp.
In the bush around Mansfield (on Taungurung country) there was a wicked old woman. She would find and keep captive those little children who wandered away from their family's camp.
Australian Indigenous Dreamtime stories are not only as colourful and as educational as Aesops fables but much much older. In an attempt to keep these stories alive I have provided links to sites where these stories are published.
Further links will be provided as more Dreamtime story sites become known.
Here is a site that has a number of stories originating from different locations around Australia.
The following story is retold from the Dreamtime story found in 'Meet the Kulin' - a publication from Monash University.
The traditional Kulin described a creature that was non-human, destructive and all powerful, responsible for sickness and supernatural events. This creature was referred to as a Bunyip.
Early European settlers were captivated by the stories of Bunyips. Newspapers and other articles theorised that Bunyips were perhaps seals, or spotted leopards or other creatures unknown to naturalists of the time.