From the archives: 1939 'bunyip' sighting had district agog

LOWOOD had a "Bunyip" in December 1939. News had been circulated that some strange creature in the Brisbane River was taking Mr John Roulston's calves. A watch was kept but nothing definite could be established.

This "strange creature" was "seen" at Wivenhoe, Lowood and Fernvale, yet no one could explain what it was really like.

One night, Mr C.H.D. Lindemann, among other opossum shooters, when walking along the river bank near Lowood caught sight of what appeared to be a bunyip crossing the river. Shots were fired at it but missed the creature.

The whole district was soon agog with the excitement of the hunt and a reward of 200 pounds was offered for finding the creature.

An organised hunt was arranged and rifles and ammunition were made available at the Drill Hall. In charge of the hunt was an officer of the K Company Moreton Regiment.

With so much firing of guns, one of the bullets "cut the wire" which had been pulling the strange animal across the river.

The whole thing had been a hoax and it was later found that Mr C.H.D. Lindemann was the perpetrator.

The "bunyip" was a box covered with wallaby hide with swansdown ears and leather sewn on for its nose. It had been made by Messrs Lindemann and F.Smythe who was a bootmaker.

The two men had fastened the "bunyip" to a wire across the river and it was worked by a device and pulleys by Mr Jack Lindemann on the Lowood side.

Later the body of the "strange creature" was taken to Lowood where it was viewed by hundreds of people. All southern newspapers gave it widespread publicity.

From the Archives: Bunyip art (1927)

Glen Vaudrey at the Weird Weekend 2011

The mastermind behind the CFZ's game camera drive for this year's Sumatra Expedition, Glen Vaudrey, explored the mythology of the Scottish water horse, also known as the Kelpie, at this year's Weird Weekend.

In folklore, Water Horses are described as being very similar to a long-necked seal. They are described as having a small head attached to a long giraffe-like neck with an equine mane (occasionally covered in hair) and having two sets of flippers, the rear pair at the very end of the body, giving the impression of a seal-like tail. Its body length ranges from 50–60 feet and the neck is 70 feet long.

Sound familiar? Think Nessie, Ogopogo, Champ and Morag, to name a few of the famous 'water monsters' that have found fame over the years.

Watch on...

New from CFZ Press: water monsters galore!

Prepare to enter Weird Waters - the home of Scandinavian and Baltic water monsters, to be precise.

Cryptozoologist Lars Thomas is behind this latest beautifully presented CFZ tome, the smart-looking cover of which gives you a clue to what lies inside.
Aquatic monsters have a long and venerable history in the waters of northern Europe, dating at least all the way back to what must surely be the grandfather of all lake-, sea- and other monsters, the mighty Midgårdsorm or Jormungandr from the old Norse mythology - a creature long enough to encircle the globe and bite its own tail. 

Though some have since claimed sightings of monsters several hundred metres long, some even confusing the creatures with small islands, nothing has ever come even remotely close to the gargantuan size of the Midgårdsorm. And naturally, the only one who ever dared to challenge this monster was the old Norse god Thor - the god of thunder.

In many ways, the Midgårdsorm is the archetypical mythological monster, but that doesn't mean all monsters are figments of the imagination. The borderline between fantasy and reality is one that is fine and fluid, with aspects of one realm carried over into the other. Real creatures can so easily clothe themselves in mythological splendour, and thus become bigger, scarier, and more fabulous.

In the centuries following the time of the Midgårdsorm, many kinds of strange creatures have been seen in the waters of northern Europe. The monsters are still very much alive, in tradition as well as in reality.

Sir David Attenborough talks monsters

Over at the CFZ, Jon Downes and crew have posted a fascinating link to a David Attenborough audio segment devoted to reminiscing about his search for the Loch Ness Monster!

"Stories of a monster in the black waters of Loch Ness go back into antiquity according to some Celtic scholars..."

Attenborough relates his 1975 meeting with Sir Peter Scott, a leading conservationist at that time, to discuss the reality of plesiosaur-looking creatures in Loch Ness, and their protection! But it seems Sir Peter's proposition may have been somewhat tongue-in-cheek as Sir David explains...

But perhaps most intriguing are his final comments on the Nepalese Yeti as "not beyond possibility" in the remote Himalaya!

Nessie hits Sydney Harbour for April 1

You have to love April Fools' Day...

This offering from the folk over at Yahoo got a couple of people excited (really) - they couldn't seem to tell the picture was a fake :-)

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Sydney residents were left in fear after a 'Nessie-like' creature appeared in the waters near the Harbour Bridge, according to eyewitness accounts.

Detective superintendent Harvey Edison said that many local police station phone-lines were jammed from 6pm until late last night due to the large number of calls describing a "strange creature emerging from the waters".

Mr Edison revealed that the reports initially came from people on cruises, ferries and boats on Sydney Harbour. "At first we dismissed the calls as a hoax since most of them were made by people on party cruises who were obviously inebriated."

Nonetheless, more eyewitness reports, photos and even videos soon made their way to various Police stations. "This is not the first time we’ve received reports of strange sightings in Sydney Harbour," Mr Edison admitted.

"But, before yesterday, they’ve always turned out to be false."

According to the detective superintendent, usually these sightings are nothing but "prank calls" aimed at having a laugh at the expense of the NSW police. "We’ve heard it all: from a shiver of vicious great white sharks, to a giant octopus. But never before had we received as many calls reporting the same incident as yesterday."

Mr. Edison said that all the videos and photos received are currently being evaluated by a team of experts to determine if they’re real or fake. Although he admitted that it was hard to believe that that much evidence "could have been fabricated in such a short period of time."

When questioned about the possibility of such a creature, prominent Icelandic marine biologist Tsüj Gniddik, who has spent most of his career studying unusual marine specimens, said that people shouldn’t be surprised if more of these sightings start happening all around the world.

"As of late, the quantity of natural phenomena has increased dramatically," Mr. Gniddik said. "Most of this activity happens underwater, at very deep levels, and is rarely felt on the surface.

"These natural phenomena have created several cracks in the ocean floor, which serve as openings to unexplored areas. We have very little understanding of the fauna that resides in these places, as most of them have been cut off from the top level of the ocean for centuries and even millennia.

"If you analyse most sightings of ‘mythical’ sea creatures throughout the years, it is usually a small group or a single individual who claim to have seen them, making these incidents almost impossible to prove.

"The Sydney Harbour sea-creature is the first recorded incident of this kind where the same ‘creature’ was spotted by hundreds of people at the same time and at the same location, which makes it particularly significant."

According to an official statement, a team of experts – which includes world-famous biologists and divers – will soon arrive in Sydney to investigate the sightings.

In response to the reports, NSW police have cancelled all ferry and party cruise services until further notice, and asked people to refrain from sailing or using luxury boats on Sydney Harbour.

The announcement has elicited a plethora of negative reactions from people who were planning on celebrating April Fools’ Day aboard one of Sydney’s popular party cruises.