Tales and Legends

One of many examples of the Bunyip legacy surviving in modern Australia.

There are numerous tales of the bunyip, often stories of a demonic like creature that lives around swamps, billabongs, creeks, riverbeds, and waterholes. It's a story told to scare travellers as well as entertain children around the campfire.

The Bunyip is considered to be a creature derived from indigenous Australian mythology. Also known as the Yowie, its origins have been traced back to the Wemba Wemba language of south-eastern Australia and appears to have formed part of the traditional Aboriginal beliefs and story telling. 
Although it is common knowledge that the story of the bunyip is considered no more than a folk tale; various written accounts of Bunyips were made by Europeans in the early and mid 19th century, during the period in which settlement spread across Australia.

The word bunyip is usually translated by Aboriginal Australians today as "devil" or "evil spirit". Descriptions of the Bunyip seem to vary and common features depicted of the Bunyip from various accounts include dog-like face, flippers, dark fur, tusks and a bill. 

Today the story of the Bunyip serves as an interesting piece of Australian folklore and has survived through various tales. These include a story in Andrew Lang's The Brown Fairy Book (1904) and The Bunyip of Berkeley's Creek which is a contemporary Australian children's picture book.

The most popular known tale of the bunyip is Michael Salmon's Alexander Bunyip. This character first appeared in print with The Monster That Ate Canberra in 1972. Alexander Bunyip then went on to appear in various other books and even a live-action television series called Alexander Bunyip's Billabong.