Nexus - 1601 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

behind thick bush, he had watched the their journey to the mission, they all very reptilian. creature until it was out of sight. saw two bipedal-walking reptilian | The Coranderrk Aboriginal peop The cattlemen, 20 in all, assembled creatures, a good 20- and 25-feet-tall of Victoria describe Kooleen as with rifles and horses, intent upon respectively, moving together across "huge beast" that walked the lar tracking the reptile and shooting it. an open plain some distance away. "feeding upon both trees ar They brought their cattle dogs with "The monsters were a greyish- Aborigines". The creature walk« them to help track down the beast. brown colour and dinosaur-like in upon two legs and possessed a sca They were in the Inverleigh area, appearance. We didn't wait around," skin. near the Morning Inlet. As they _ said the father, Greg Askey. Kooleen thus appears to t attempted to cross the watercourse, something akin to a carnivorol their dogs, all 30 of them, began THE CARNIVOROUS KOOLEEN _ theropod dinosaur and resembli running off in all directions ina panic, | The Normanton district tribespeople Burrunjor. Kooleen would appear as if fearful of something ahead, for untold generations have believed be Burrunjor under another name. hidden in the bushland. in the existence of Burrunjor reptilian "He was the terror of the scrublan: About this time, two of the men giants, but also have believed in and open country of west Victoria, a1 discovered large reptilian tracks and another, smaller, almost man-height tribespeople were forever on the ale tail impressions in nearby creek mud. reptilian biped which thrives upon for these monsters." So said an o With their horses appearing reluctant flesh—human and animal—and Aboriginal acquaintance of to enter the water, the men decided to inhabits the Gulf scrublands. Dandenong Ranges pastoralist fami leave well enough alone and turned —‘ There are mounted police, stockmen in the 1880s. He warned them nev back. and others who claim either to have to enter certain parts of that ar In 1957, up in the McArthur River seen these reptilian carnivores or to because of the Kooleen monsters th country of the Northern Territory,a have met others who have. As_ lived there! mob of over 50 cattle went berserk recently as 1993, a gemstone hunter _In the previous chapter of my box late one night, seemingly for no claimed he had come face to face with [chapter 20 of Out of the Dreamtime apparent reason to the jackeroos a four-foot-tall (1.22 m) greenish- I described two fossilised dinosa camped nearby on the river bank. grey-coloured beast which approached footprints found in tl Then, amid all the din of the him on a bush bellowing, stampeding cattle, an track. He beat it Aboriginal member of the group ran off with a pick screaming in terror into the river. handle before A loud, snorting, grunting sound running for his could be heard, and in the moonlight four-wheel drive, the dark shadowy form of some scratched by the monstrous beast towering over the creature's front cattle could be seen bounding over claws. He nearby flats into scrubland. described it as The next morning the men found _ being rather thin in several cows and a bull dead, one of appearance and the animals partly devoured. They having a lizard-like also found, deeply embedded across head, three-toed the flat earth leading into the scrub, feet, front claws monstrous clawed tracks—"the tracks and a short tail. of Burrunjor", said the frightened Old Aboriginal Aboriginal jackeroo. traditions of More recently, in 1985, a family of Victoria include travellers, the Askeys, who were in tales of Kooleen, their four-wheel-drive vehicle heading the "man with a for the Roper River Mission, tail", whose happened to take a back road forsome ph y sical sightseeing. Just before they were to appearance’ in pull up and turn around to resume some accounts is their journey to the mission, they all saw two bipedal-walking reptilian creatures, a good 20- and 25-feet-tall respectively, moving together across an open plain some distance away. "The monsters were a greyish- brown colour and dinosaur-like in appearance. We didn't wait around," said the father, Greg Askey. very reptilian. The Coranderrk Aboriginal people of Victoria describe Kooleen as a "huge beast" that walked the land "feeding upon both trees and Aborigines". The creature walked upon two legs and possessed a scaly skin. Kooleen thus appears to be something akin to a carnivorous theropod dinosaur and resembles Burrunjor. Kooleen would appear to be Burrunjor under another name. "He was the terror of the scrublands and open country of west Victoria, and tribespeople were forever on the alert for these monsters." So said an old Aboriginal acquaintance of a Dandenong Ranges pastoralist family in the 1880s. He warned them never to enter certain parts of that area because of the Kooleen monsters that lived there! In the previous chapter of my book [chapter 20 of Out of the Dreamtime], I described two fossilised dinosaur footprints found in the THE CARNIVOROUS KOOLEEN The Normanton district tribespeople for untold generations have believed in the existence of Burrunjor reptilian giants, but also have believed in another, smaller, almost man-height reptilian biped which thrives upon flesh—human and animal—and inhabits the Gulf scrublands. There are mounted police, stockmen and others who claim either to have seen these reptilian carnivores or to have met others who have. As recently as 1993, a gemstone hunter claimed he had come face to face with a four-foot-tall (1.22 m) greenish- grey-coloured beast which approached him on a bush track. He beat it off with a pick handle before running for his four-wheel drive, scratched by the a creature's front claws. He described it as being rather thin in and a Se nerville appearance’ in some accounts is NEXUS ¢ 67 DECEMBER 2008 — JANUARY 2009 www.nexusmagazine.com