Long before the city of Melbourne was born, the indigenous people of Australia, the Aborigines, shared thrilling tales of a mysterious creature that lurked in the river Yarra, the location of the modern-day city – The Bunyip. The Bunyip is a cryptid, a creature of Aboriginal mythology often described as an evil spirit that lurks in swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes.
The description of a Bunyip varied among the tribes, giving birth to numerous myths and legends. Commonly, the Bunyip was depicted as having a dog-like face, dark fur, a horse-like tail, flippers, and walrus-like tusks or horns. It was a creature of the night, and as its haunting cry echoed across the waterways, the Aborigines were filled with a chilling sense of dread.
To the Aborigines, the Bunyip was a symbol of an end, the embodiment of a punishment for those crimes against their laws. Whoever incurred the wrath of the Bunyip disappeared without a trace. Despite its fearsome reputation, the Bunyip also played a crucial role in Aboriginal traditions, teaching valuable lessons about the dangers of the Australian wilderness.
As settlers from Europe started to colonize Australia, they heard whispers of this monstrous creature from terrified natives. The Bunyip myth penetrated into the settler society, sending robust ripples that echoed the fear faced by the Aborigines.
Even after hundreds of years have passed, tales of the Bunyip still prevail. Its story is deeply woven into Melbourne’s cultural fabric, representing the entrancing power of the city’s indigenous heritage, mystery, and intrigue of the Australian wild.