The Koolunga Bunyip

 

Koolunga is a small town in the Mid North. To Koolunga’s east sits White Cliffs Reserve; it was here that, in 1883, a Bunyip was allegedly witnessed.[1]

Local Ngadjuri people believed that a Bunyah Bunyah dwelled in the billabong at White Cliffs. The Broughton River flows through this park; the same river is associated with Bunyip sightings at a billabong called Warra Warra, near Crystal Brook.[2]

It was claimed that several witnesses saw the Bunyip in the billabong in 1883. A hunting party was formed, and rather than trying to trap the Bunyip or shoot it, it was decided that dynamite would be used to blast the Bunyip out of its dark, watery home.[3]

Rifles, pistols, dynamite, and soap were used to try to bring the Bunyip out of the depths of the billabong, all without success. 150 people assembled on the day of the dynamite explosion in the hope of seeing the creature. The dynamite blew up deep within the billabong and brought debris, trees, and fish to the surface, but no Bunyip![4]

You can visit the White Cliffs Campsite for yourself.

More details here: https://www.australiancampsites.com.au/white-cliffs-reserve

Researched and written by Allen Tiller ©2020

[1] 'KOOLUNGA LETTER.', Port Adelaide News, (16 February 1883), p. 8. ,http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article195870033.

[2] 'MERRITON, FEBRUARY 27.', The South Australian Advertiser, (8 March 1883), p. 7., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article33757799.

[3] 'KOOLUNGA, January 22.', South Australian Register, (25 January 1883), p. 7., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article43467030.

[4] 'FIFTY YEARS AGO', Northern Argus, (13 March 1936), p. 5., http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article97771239.