Bunyip
Last reviewed Next review
A being of Aboriginal Australian tradition said to live in swamps, creeks and waterholes.
Folklore Verdict: A being of living Aboriginal tradition; we don't depict it, and colonial 'bunyip' finds proved to be known animals.
- Region
- Oceania · Australia
- First reports
- Aboriginal traditions; colonial newspaper reports from the 1840s
Key sightings
- In 1847 a skull found on the Murrumbidgee River was displayed as a bunyip's; it was later judged a deformed horse or calf skull.
Best evidence
The 1847 skull was identified as an ordinary animal.
This being belongs to a living Indigenous or religious tradition. We describe the reports respectfully, show no picture of the being, and put no pin on any site.