Tuesday, October 4, 2011

THE HAIRY MAN, YAHOO OR YOWIE

As I am beginning to discover Canberra has a long history of Yowie sightings. A little difficult to read but well worth the effort I think.

Lets not beat around the bush these articles are about the mythical Yowie. There has been records of sightings in the ACT region I have found going back 150 years and as recent in the Tharwa/Orroral area as 2003 and 2006.

Thanks to keywords such as yowie, yahoo, 'hairy man' 'Australian gorilla' and a fully digitised archive of old newspapers at Trove. It is amazing how many historical reports there were of what we would today call yowies and evident that people in the area actually believed there was a bi-pedal hominid of some form living in the surrounding bushland and mountains.

So common were the bush reports of contact that one night time church meeting at Weetangera referred to the 'becoming too common Australian Gorilla' outside as an annoyance...

Queanbeyan Age - Wednesday 7 April 1880



The next article is a good representation of the sort of report I am finding. The scene in this one is set between Pierces Creek and Tidbinbilla Mountain. The witness was from Uriarra. The article is also interesting I thought as it further reports of Aboriginals hunting down and killing a suspected yowie not far away at the junction of the Yass and Murrumbidgee rivers...

Queanbeyan Age - Friday 7 August 1903



Anyway a bit more trivia but just in case the next time your in Namadgi make sure to take a camera.

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