South Australia - Flora and Fauna
- Birds
- Bunyips
- Camels
- Cruelty to Animals
- Dogs
- Fish and Other Sea Creatures
- Foxes
- Goats
- Horses, Donkeys and Mules
- Marsupials and Mammals
- Mice, Snakes and Rats
- Miscellany
- Mosquitoes, Flies and Other Pests
- Possums
- Rabbits
- Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
- Sparrows
Bunyips
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Oh! the bunyip he is a horrible beast,
His head points west and his tail wags east,
And he measures full seventeen feet at least,
From the tip of his snout to the crupper.
At the setting of the sun he goes out on the prowl,
And he seizes his prey with a terrible growl,
Off animal, reptile, fish or fowl,
He makes a capital supper.
(Register, 8 January 1891, page 3f.)
"The Bunyip" is in the South Australian,
16 February 1847, page 8b,
23 April 1847, page 4d,
"A Real Bunyip" on
24 November 1848, page 2f.
Information on the sighting of "interstate" bunyips is in the Register,
23 December 1856, page 2d and
SA Gazette & Mining Journal,
12 August 1848, page 4c.
An account of a Mount Gambier bunyip is in the Register,
30 December 1852, page 3a:
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When the monster of the bulrushes made his appearance, the blacks on the bank [of the lagoon]... set up a fearful yell... The animal was about 12 or 14 feet [long] and I suppose must be the bunyip, so long supposed to be a creation of the native's imagination.
The presence of a bunyip in a lagoon near Melrose is reported in the Register, 28 November 1853, page 3f:
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I [saw] a large blackish substance advancing towards the bank, which as I approached raised itself out of the water. I crept towards it... It had a large head and a neck something like that of a horse with thick bristly hair... Its actual length would be from 15 to 18 feet.
I have been repeatedly told by respectable people that they have been seen an animal in the large waterholes of this colony... I have spoken to intelligent blacks respecting it, who confirmed the reports...
(Register, 25 January 1854, page 3f.)
"The Bunyip" is in the Observer,
27 December 1856, page 6h.
A report and description of a bunyip sighted in a small salt water lake between Robe and Beachport are in the Register,
20 August 1881, page 5d.
The "Koolunga Bunyip" was the cause for concern in the early 1880s and the Register of 21 February 1883 at page 6c carries a lengthy report on the monster:
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An attempt will be made on Wednesday 21 February to capture the bunyip, which was last seen in the waterhole near to Mr Freeman's farm. Dynamite will be used...
Our friend described the bunyip as much like a seal... The farmer's daughter, who saw it... about a week ago, describes it as being like a dog minus a tail. The farmer himself... says the animal is like a sheep dog.
(Advertiser, 20 February 1883, page 4g.)
The capture of a "bunyip" near Dublin by Mr W.H. Cornish and subsequent events is reported in the Register,
19 August 1884, page 5b.
A report of a bunyip in Warra Warra Waterhole near Crystal Brook is in the Register, 31 January 1889, page 5b:
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Although seen during the last ten days by no less than six different persons, none of them can give an intelligent description of what the bunyip is like... A trap has been set...
(Also see Register, 6 February 1889, page 7g.)
"The Bunyip of the South-East" is in the Register,
6 October 1893, page 5c,
Observer,
7 October 1893, page 31e.
The Register of 27 August 1895, page 5b makes mention of a bunyip lurking in Umpherston Cave, near Mount Gambier.
"Berri's Mystery Creature" is in The News,
19 December 1932, page 8a.
Flora and Fauna - Choose again
