Tiddalik the Frog and The Bunyip (Part 1)

Welcome back Visitor! Take in that amazing fall view of the Northshore and set your sights for spring. We're hiking to south east Australia to learn about Tiddalik the Frog and the Bunyip that comes from Australia's First Nations Peoples. Hopefully you don't have anywhere to be but if you do, you won't be gone long. What may seem like an overnight camping trip will only take an hour in the real world so you'll be back in time before you know it!

Stick to the trail and don't feed the wildlife (no matter how cute they look!)

Today's Lunchbreak is a flash fiction piece called "Amiga Park's Marvel" by Karen Pierce Gonzalez. Find her on twitter @folkheartpress.

To learn more about the impact of climate change and how it affects bushfires in Australia and to help in the recovery effort, please visit the official website of Australia's World Wildlife Fund at wwf.or.au. You can also find a list of other recovery projects at globalgiving.org/austrailian-wildfires-releif

Sources cited:

“Bringing Indigenous Fire Back to Northern Australia.” The Nature Conservancy, 5 Nov. 2021,https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/asia-pacific/australia/stories-in-australia/bringing-indigenous-fire-back-to-northern-australia/#:~:text=Aboriginal%20people%20arrived%20in%20Australia,the%20land%2C%20and%20regenerate%20vegetation.

Brown, Susan. “Beware the Bunyip.” World Book, 18 Dec. 2020, https://www.worldbook.com.au/bunyip/.

“Children's Week.” Museums Victoria, https://museumsvictoria.com.au/childrens-week/.

“Dreamtime Stories.” Www.kullillaart.com.au, https://www.kullillaart.com.au/dreamtime-stories/.

Dungey, Grace. “As Australia Faces New Fire Reality, Forest Restoration Tactics Reevaluated.” Mongabay Environmental News, 15 Mar. 2022, https://news.mongabay.com/2022/02/as-australia-faces-new-fire-reality-forest-restoration-tactics-reevaluated/.

Gabbert, Author Bill. “The Story of Australia's Million-Hectare Fire.” Wildfire Today, 27 July 2020, https://wildfiretoday.com/2020/07/27/the-story-of-australias-million-hectare-fire/.

“Mutating Myths: AMNH.” American Museum of Natural History, https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/mythic-creatures/water/mutating-myths.

“Terminology Guide.” Narragunnawali, https://www.narragunnawali.org.au/about/terminology-guide. 

Transcript

Today’s episode is brought to you by the Great Lakes Aquarium. Based in Duluth, Minnesota, the Aquarium is dedicated to leading freshwater conservation by connecting all people to Lake Superior and the world’s waters.Their mission is to engage and inspire, encouraging stewardship of wildlife and water.

Fire is destructive and yet it is necessary. It can take life and set the foundation for something new. How can we find the balance in such a wild force? How long does it take to heal from such an experience? I’m park ranger Amy and these are the questions we’ll be exploring on Supernatural Park. 

Hello visitor! Welcome back to Supernatural Park. Feel that cool breeze in the air. Can you tell it’s fall in the northern hemisphere? Yes, you can even see the maples, aspen, and birch on the northshore start changing to their brilliant hues of orange, red, and yellow as they herald the coming of the long cold winters. Take in the view and enjoy it while we’re standing at the gates of the park here because we’re hiking to south-east Australia where their spring is just starting to emerge from their own frosty winter.

Today, we’ll be searching for the bunyip which comes from First Nations people’s Australian culture. Now I just wanted to give a little insight into terminology; since I’m sure you’ve also heard the term “Aborigines” or “Aboriginals” used in reference to Australian tribes. Many First Nations people consider these to be outdated terms, and have negative connotations with them due to European Colonization. The term “Aboriginals'' is also not inclusive of the full diversity and cultures of Australia nor is it inclusive to the Torres Strait Islander peoples who come from Paupa New Guniea. By using the words “First Nations” we are using the term that has been specifically chosen by the First Nations peoples and it makes a statement that they were first to live in Australia with their own nations, culture, history, and language. It’s actually best if, when talking about the First Nations Peoples, to identify a specific nation you are referring too. But for our purpose, since the legend of the Bunyip comes from multiple nations that hail from South-eastern Australia, collectively we’ll say “First Nations Peoples.”  

We’re about to dive into a whole treasure trove of Austrailia’s First Nations people’s culture. Aren’t you excited? Let’s begin our hike!

As I mentioned before, when fall comes to the northern hemisphere, spring comes to the southern hemisphere. So hopefully going from seeing trees full of colorful leaves to trees with tiny green buds on them won’t be too disorienting. I should mention though that the land is  still healing from The Gospers Mountain fire when it started burning in 2019 known as the Black Summer. This was the largest bushfire in the history of the continent, where a lightning strike ignited a tree and within five months that small fire merged with several others and burned over 2 and a half million acres across south east Australia; seven times the size of the country of Singapore. So don’t be shocked if we still see scorched and blackened earth along with acres of burnt tree remains…

Here we are. Take a look around you. Like I said…it’s…devastating to look at. Despite the buds on the tiny plants that have managed to re–grow, it’s still so bare. It’s almost as if you can still smell the ash and smoke in the air even though torrential rain had put the fire out 2 years ago. I don’t mean to be negative visitor but it’s important to be realistic. And this is the reality that we are experiencing now. The risk of fires such as these have increased due to deforestation, heat, and drought and the intensity has worsened from hotter, drier, and windier conditions. 

What’s interesting though is that we actually need bushfires. Not at this scale and intensity of course but throughout history there has been evidence that First Nations people have used small fires to hunt, clear paths, and regenerate vegetation. Indeed, some Eucalyptus trees need intense heat to release their seeds for regeneration. The seedlings, released from their woody capsules, can grow better in nutrient-rich ashen soil where other understory species have been removed from the competition; and when other plants have been removed, animals that browse on vegetation have also left the area and allows the new trees time to grow. Throughout history as first nations used these small controlled fires since they arrived 65,000 years ago, many of Australia's species like finches and small marsupials have come to rely on these fires to create the right habitat for them. 

We can take the lessons of nature and connect that to our lives too. Fire is painful and destructive and it can take what we’ve established in our life and burn it away. I’m not just talking about literal fire…change and trauma leave emotional scars and take time to heal. And even after all the time it takes to heal from it, it’s not the same. You still bear the memories of what was and what remains. But it gives us a chance to take stock of our situation. Did we need this fire for new growth in our lives? Maybe. Maybe not. Sometimes, bad things just happen for no reason. Sometimes a little lightning can evolve into a wild inferno. A small fire can merge with many and cause chaos. Too much of what should be needed can get out of control. But just remember…even if it destroys everything you’ve worked for, healing does come. It takes time, and the amount of time it takes depends on how much you allow yourself to have. Healing is a process not meant to be rushed.

Nature, like us, needs time to heal. And we need to figure out what we can do to give it that time so that fires don’t keep happening over and over again, destroying everything it has worked for. While trees of the eucalyptus species  do need heat to release their seeds, some of those species take 20 years to mature before they too can produce seed. And when these fires happen more frequently than they should, it doesn’t allow the forest to re-establish itself. 

I see a billabong in the distance. That’s an Australian word for an oxbow lake left behind after a river changes course, derived from the language of the Wiradjuri (wi-rah-jur-ee) nation. Let’s go sit over there and look for the Bunyip. Oh but watch yourself. The bunyip may be stalking waterways in search of prey that gets too close to the shore. We’ll keep a healthy distance while I tell you the story of Tiddalik the Frog, a small frog who lived in the Wollombi (Wool-um-buy) Valley where the Darkinjung (Dar-kin-jung), Awabakal (Ah-wah-ba-kal), and Wonnarua (Won-nair-ua) nations are from. 

I brought a blanket for us to spread out on the ground here; have a seat. 

Now Tiddalik the frog’s story comes from the Dreamtime,or when the world was created. This moment in history is also known as the “Dreaming” and it laid down the foundations of First Nations people’s cultures some 65,000 years ago. Since this story is found all over Australia, there are many different versions of it. But this version that I’m sharing with you is from the Gunnai Kurnai (GUN-eye-kur-nye) people in Gippsland (Gipps-lund).

A long time ago in South-East Australia, there was a frog named Tiddalik. One morning, Tiddalik woke up with a huge thirst and began to drink from the lake where he lived. He drank until all the water in the lake was gone. But he was still thirsty so he drank from the streams nearby until all of that water was gone. And then he drank from the rivers until all of that water was gone; and as he drank Tiddalik grew and grew and GREW until he was as big as a giant water balloon. Not a single drop of water was left anywhere and very soon, the other animals were very thirsty. The trees turned brown from the lack of water. All the animals pondered this predicament and wondered what they could do to get Tiddalik to return all the water he drank. They asked an owl who was the oldest and wisest of them what they should do.

The owl answered that if they could get Tiddalik to laugh, then all the water would flow out of his mouth and back into the lakes, rivers, and streams. All the animals agreed this was a good idea. They planned to hold a corroboree, which is a social gathering, where they would invite every animal to make Tiddalik laugh.

 Later that night all the animals gathered around for a big corroboree. The kangaroo decided he would bounce around to see if that would make Tiddalik laugh. And so he bounced up and down but Tiddalik did not laugh. So a giant lizard did a silly walk in front of Tiddalik to try to make him laugh, but he did not. 

A kookaburra made funny sounds for her turn but it did not get Tiddalik to laugh. And then an eel named Nabunum appeared, and began to wiggle, and squiggle, and very nearly tied himself into a knot! Tiddalik watched and tried his very best not to laugh, but he couldn't help himself. Tiddalik burst out laughing and water began to come out of his mouth and spill everywhere. 

As Tiddalik kept laughing, more and more water poured out of him and returned to the countryside, some even into clouds where the water originally came from. Some water even flowed to new places creating new rivers and lakes. 

After all the water flowed out of Tiddalik and back where it belonged, Tiddalik was no longer a giant frog. He returned back to the small frog he was before and he realized that it isn’t nice to be greedy; it’s better to share and take only what you need only when you need it. 

I really love this creation story visitor. Stories have lessons and I think from this one we can learn how important it is to not take too many resources from our environment. And of course, the animals learned with teamwork how to accomplish the task they set out to do.

I think the park loved that story too; in fact I think it’s ready for more. It’s late afternoon anyway so why don’t we take a lunch break before we continue looking for the Bunyip? 

Today’s Lunch Break is a flash fiction by Karen Pierce Gonzalez titled “Amiga Park’s Marvel”.

Amiga Park’s Marvel

The overnight appearance of a large amethyst turns Amiga Park into a tourist attraction. People from everywhere ooh and aah the sparkling clump of unknown origins.

The straight-faced village official happily reports the quartz cluster has put them on the map.

“Our hostel, always half-empty, is bursting at the seams!”

Locals like Freida - a 99-year-old who spends her days standing close to the semi-precious mound and now looks and feels like she’s 79- thinks the stones are a gift “from ancestors buried long ago in the earth” A reward, she says, for those faithful to the old ways, although she will not tell anyone what those ways are.

Retired teacher Carmeno believes something in the park’s geology “magnetically attracted the brilliant crystal specimens down from heaven.” He sets up a telescope and spends his evenings searching the sky for clues.

The official scoffs, clears his throat. “Whatever. In the meantime, we’ve got new park rules.”

Alcohol and dancing are now forbidden. “No going crazy around this thing.” He jiggles his body and points to the purple formation. At that very moment, his knees buckle. He falls - can’t imagine, for the life of him, why, instead of crying, he’s laughing.

Karen Pierce Gonzalez’s writing credits include True North (Origami Poems Project), Down River with Li Po  (Black Cat Poetry Press)and forthcoming: Coyote in the basket of  my ribs (Alabaster Leaves), . Her fiction and non-fiction have appeared in numerous publications  such as FERAL, Honeyguide, and  Thimble. A former journalist and folklore columnist, she facilitates writing workshops in the San Francisco Bay Area and creates assemblage art from natural, found materials.

Oh my-did you hear that? That was the bunyip howl! I think just for safety, let’s get up and move a little further away from the shoreline. It was pretty close; in fact I think it came from the reeds over there. I’m not saying we’re in danger, but it’s been known to prowl the shoreline in search of humans to eat. Or it’s been said to be timid and eat plants. So you can never be too careful!

I’m not exactly sure what we’ll see. Descriptions of the bunyip range widely. In some tales it looks like a dog and in other stories it looks like a seal. It’s either as big as a horse or as small as a dog. It can either have flippers, fangs, tusks, one or two eyes, scales, fur, or horns. 

The reason for so many descriptions of the bunyip over time is mainly due to the contact of other cultures. As European settlers came to America and Australia, they heard original stories and told their own, and both blended together. Missionaries, especially, would rework tales in order to convince the first nations to give up their beliefs; but their stories don’t just disappear. As is the case with most stories, they blend with new ideas. And sometimes the newcomers are the ones who adopt the local beliefs. 

The word “bunyip” has been traced to the Wemba-Wemba language of Australia's south eastern First Nations and is loosely translated into “Evil Spirit”.  Many sightings that took place in the 1850’s have been around Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia. One written account took place in 1852 by a man named William Buckley. He had spent thirty years living with the Wathauron (Wath-or-wrong)nation near present day Melbourn. He wrote “I was near Lake Moodemere when I saw an amphibious animal which the natives call the bunyip. I could never see any part except the back which appeared to be covered with feathers of a dusky grey color. It seemed the size of a full grown calf, I could never learn from any of the natives that they had seen either the head or tail.”

A Lot of debate about the origins of the bunyip has taken place. One suggestion is that the bunyip is a cultural memory of extinct Australian animals that were part of the Diprotondontidae (Die-proto-don-today) family, giant marsupials that were around in the Pleistocene era, and were probably hunted by the first nation’s ancestors. Whatever it’s origins are, this creature is ancient as it  has also appeared in the  Ngarrindjeri (N-garon-jerry) dreamtime story as a water spirit Mulyawonk (Mool-ya-wonk) and would punish those who took more fish than what they needed from the waterways. Indeed, some nations believe that it will deliver justice to anyone who commits evil acts against wildlife. 

Oh-something’s coming out of the rushes! Look-that must be it. Wow…it’s a lot different than I imagined. Does it have feathers like a bird? A bill like a duck? A head like a crocodile? It’s…rather hard to see it with the sun setting and light fading. I know of a description in 1933 by an Australian geologist  named Charles Fenner. He described it as having the long neck, round head, and body of a manatee. He was likely describing the southern elephant seals that often make their way up the Murray and Darling Rivers. But some of it’s submerged by water so it’s difficult to tell what it looks like completely. And the light of the day is fading…wow I can’t believe the park hasn’t called us back yet? And…do you think the bunyip is getting closer?

Wait right there, visitor. Don’t take your eyes off the bunyip. Something appeared on the blanket behind us and I’m going to go see what it is. 

How’s it going, visitor? Has it come any closer? It looks like you two are just staring at each other…

-bunyip boom-

Oh my! I’m not sure if it’s warning us off or giving us a friendly hello. In either case I’ve just come back with news from the park. It seems it wants us to camp here for the night. You don’t have anything to get back to do you? No worries. Time moves differently here in the park than outside of it. I don’t think you’ll be gone for more than an hour in real world time.

Well, it looks like the Bunyip has become bored with you and has gone off to do its own thing. Isn’t nature amazing? Sometimes, as much as we feel we are in control of the world, we should remember that it doesn’t follow our schedule or interests. It doesn’t take our life or priorities into account as time goes on. Maybe the bunyip will be back? I suppose it depends on how it feels as the night goes on. For now, let’s get settled in for the night. You’ve got your own tent there. Do you need help setting it up? Here. Let me give you a hand…

Sources cited from today’s episode can be found in the show description.

If you have a short story, poem, or flash fiction you would like to feature on a future episode’s Lunch Break, please send the written version or a sound recording to thesupernaturalpark@gmail.com

If you liked this episode and want to hear more as well as gain access to behind the scenes content and in the works poetry, visit my patreon account at patreon.com/supernaturalpark. You can also find the facebook page for it by searching Supernatural Park. 

To learn more about the impact of climate change and how it affects bushfires in Australia and to help in the recovery effort, please visit the official website of Australia's World Wildlife Fund at wwf.or.au. You also find a list of other recovery projects at globalgiving.org/austrailian-wildfires-releif.

The music intro used in the show is titled “Magic Forest” by Kevin Macleod. To hear the full version of the song or hear to hear more of his music, please visit incomptech.com