Mysteries of Folklore

Bunyips

 

The Bunyip (or ‘bunyit’) is the most famous addition to human folklore derived from Aboriginal legend. It is often described as a large creature the size of a hippopotamus with large tusks and flippers. Its modus vivendi is to lurk in waterholes and ambush creatures that come down to drink. It’s possible that for some tribes the invention of the Bunyip was simply a way of keeping children from undrinkable or dangerous water sources, but white travellers seem to have adopted the notion of the dangerous water creature whole-heartedly (and probably with a little leg-pulling from the native populace).

Reported sightings of the monster made the newspapers throughout the Victorian era and into the first third of the following century. Many farmers claimed to have heard it bellowing from distant billabongs or rivers, or to have seen its bulk sinking beneath brackish waters. At one point, several plays were written about the beast, along with many sensational novels aimed at thrilling the readership of the day (see picture, left).

Today theories about the validity of the Bunyip vary. Some claim that the bellowing of the creature is simply the ‘booming’ of the Bittern, a type of marsh-dwelling bird. Others claim that the monster is an Aboriginal race-memory harking back to the days when the massive Diprotodonts roamed the countryside.

Given the variety of descriptions of the Bunyip, it is probable that its close connexion to shifting Dreamland forces allows it to alter is form depending upon its immediate needs or desires. Nevertheless, it seems always to be amphibious, always bestial in nature, as well as bellowing forth its hideous cry. The following statistics are for a gigantic bipedal form, armed with clawed flippers:

STR: 45 (10D6+10)

CON: 26 (4D6+12)

SIZ: 45 (10D6+10)

INT: 19 (2D6+12)

POW: 35 (10D6)

DEX: 16-17 (3D6+6)

Move: 10/16 Swimming

HP: 36

Av Damage Bonus: +5D6

Weapon: Bite 65%, 1D10; Claw 65%, Grapple, then 5D6+db on each successive round

Armour: 10 point Hide

SAN Loss: 1/1D10; 1/1D3 SAN Loss to hear a Bunyip’s terrifying cry

Skills: Sense Life 95%; Swim Quietly 95%

Habitat: Billabongs and other lonely waterholes

Drop Bears

 

Since the United States Atlantic Fleet first arrived in Sydney Harbour on August the 20^th 1908, American troops have been regular visitors to these shores. The locals, seeing the US sailors as being vastly more cashed-up than themselves, often tried to part them from their hard-earned pay, or, if they couldn’t achieve this end, attempted to convince them of various illusory horrors of the Australian wilderness. Foremost amongst these is the Drop Bear.

Typically, this menace is ostensibly much like the sleepy Koala; however, this superficial resemblance hides a terrifying nature. The Drop Bear is highly carnivorous and equipped with massive fangs and claws; its habitual tactic is to wait for its target to walk under the tree wherein it hides and then to fall down upon it, attacking by surprise and tearing its prey’s head off. Unlike the Koala, it is fearless and often wanders deep into human enclaves in its search for food: colonies have even been observed on the underside of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Obviously there is not much substance to the stories of the Drop Bear; however, it may suit some Keepers to weave a tale out of this piece of folklore and so, here are some statistics:

STR: 20 (4D6+6)

CON: 14 (4D6)

SIZ: 2-3 (1D4)

POW: 15-16 (1D6+12)

DEX: 10-11 (3D6)

Move: 14

HP: 8-9

Av Damage Bonus: none

Weapon: Bite 50%, 1D8; Claw 30%, 1D10+2

Armour: 4 points of thick fur

Skills: Hide 85%; Climb 90%; Sneak 60%

Habitat: In elevated positions throughout Australia

Fisher’s Ghost

 

Fred Fisher was a landowner who worked a farm in the district of Campbelltown in what is now Sydney’s south west. One day his friend George Worrall came to town with the news that Fisher had gone to England on business and had left him with power of attorney over Fisher’s land and possessions. Later, Worrall claimed that he’d received a letter telling him that Fisher no longer intended to return to Australia and that Worrall could claim all of his holdings. Later still, a local man named John Farley rushed into the pub, agitated and scared: he claimed to have seen Fisher’s ghost on a nearby bridge crossing a creek. The ghost had said nothing but had simply pointed into a nearby field through which the creek ran. Police formed a search party and the body of Fred Fisher was soon located, buried near the creek which today bears his name.

Lasseter’s Reef

 

Harold Bell Lasseter was a prospector who claimed to have stumbled upon a fabulous gold deposit near the meeting of the Western Australia and Northern Territory borders in 1930. He claimed to have been rescued by Afghans after discovering the deposit and thus failed to accurately record the location. Subsequent attempts to rediscover the “reef” saw Lasseter become increasingly erratic until doubts about his sanity brought the expeditions to a halt. After trekking solo into the wilderness one last time, Lasseter failed to return and was later discovered dead by a rescue team. Apparently, he had met some Aborigines who had helped him survive, sun-blinded and dehydrated, until he had decided to head to Ayers Rock where a return to civilisation might be effected. The discovery of his personal belongings in a nearby cave, including his journal, failed to positively identify the location of the fabled golden lode.

The Great Depression of the 1930s led many people to go off in search of the Reef, many of them never to be seen again. Even today, talk of Lasseter’s Reef - regardless of the questionable reliability of Lasseter’s mental acuity - can get gold fever spiking.

The Min Min Lights

 

The Min Min Lights are floating discs of light which hover in the Bush, often pursuing for miles those who see them. Aboriginal legends speak of them from times immemorial and swagmen brought the tales back with them to the City from their wanderings in the Bush. The ‘Lights are most often seen in the south-western region of Queensland and the north-eastern corner of New South Wales, that area known as Channel Country.

The ‘Lights have been claimed by UFO-logists as evidence of extraterrestrial visitors, while atmospheric scientists claim that they are nothing more than an unusual optical effect produced by meteorological conditions in the area. However, the jury is largely still out as to what causes them to appear.

Mystery Kangaroos

 

Kangaroos have mysteriously appeared in countries other than their native one and sightings have been recorded since the early 1900s. Most reports concern colonies of kangaroos or wallabies that have spawned from creatures escaped from zoological collections, such as the Devon wallabies or the kangaroos which populate the forests south of Versailles. Other sightings have a more sinister overtone though.

Many of these sightings have been in mainland USA where the phenomenon has sometimes been termed ‘American Kangaroos’. It is thought that escaped creatures from zoos, circuses and so forth could explain the phenomenon but, even given breeding viability, the rash of sightings is extreme. Further, encounters with these creatures have seen them described as ‘ghostly’ with ‘glowing eyes’ and an uncharacteristically bad-tempered attitude wherein dogs and cats have been harmed or even killed.

Phantom Cats

 

Folklore tells of a squadron of US Marines that were stationed in NSW between the Wars. They had with them a pair of cougars that were the squad’s mascots. These were set free before the unit returned to America and now these beasts and their offspring run wild in the Bushlands of Australia.

Another tale tells of a travelling circus which was involved in a collision whilst moving to its next venue. In the mayhem, two tigers escaped their confines and fled into the Bush, where they have maintained a close-knit clan, hiding from prying eyes.

Yet again there was the Sydney-based eccentric millionaire who built a menagerie in the western ranges of the city and who, when ordered to remove the unlicensed and potentially dangerous zoo, simply opened the cage doors and let his collection run free: the wild cats were never recovered.

Whether any of these stories are true is unclear (and, despite many serious attempts, the facts cannot be fully substantiated); nevertheless, reports of large savage felines crop up frequently in the local folklore. The best known is the legend of the ‘Lithgow Panther’, a large feline that roams the Bushland near Lithgow on the far side of the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.

Yarri, or Marsupial Lion

 

‘Yarri’ is an Aboriginal word used to describe a large feline predator that supposedly roams the Queensland wildernesses; the word itself may be a relic held over from a time when the first Australian settlers encountered such a creature. Many have thought that sightings of the Yarri prove that the Marsupial Lion, or Thylacoleo carnifax, has somehow escaped extinction and is hiding, awaiting its rediscovery by scientific researchers. Like the Phantom Cats (see above), this could just be another case of a grossly overlarge feral cat making its presence felt, but who can say?

Yowies

 

The word ‘Yowie’ is a white derivation of the Aboriginal word ‘Yuuri’, the name of a beast from Aboriginal folklore. Early explorers brought back the legend of the Yowie (or ‘Yowie-Whowie’ as it is sometimes called) from outlying Aboriginal tribes. Given the vagueness of the description in those old tales, white Australians found other interpretations for the creature.

It’s possible that reported meetings of the Yowie were legends that covered strange encounters with menacing people lurking in the Bush – lost swaggies, escaped felons etc. These informed the tales to the extent that the Yowie became a kind of Bushland hominid, not unlike the Yeti, or Sasquatch. Like those other creatures, the jury is still out concerning their origin and habits, despite a solid fan-base of intrepid investigators who staunchly believe that they exist.

STR: 16-17 (3D6+6)

CON: 16-17 (3D6+6)

SIZ: 13 (2D6+6)

INT: 10 (2D6+3)

POW: 10-11 (3D6)

DEX: 13-14 (3D6+3)

Move: 8

HP: 14-15

Av Damage Bonus: +1D4

Weapon: Fist 50%, 1D3+db; Thrown Rock 50%, 1D6+0.5db

Armour: 4

SAN Loss: 0/1D6; 0/1 SAN Loss to hear a Yowie’s bloodcurdling howl

Skills: Climb 70%; Hide 75%; Jump 55%; Listen 75%; Scent 60%; Sneak 65%; Spot Hidden 65%

Habitat: Remote Bush wilderness areas across Australia