Sightings

 

THE HAWKESBURY RIVER MONSTER - Dharuk tribal Aborigines of the New South Wales central coast, north of Sydney, have preserved traditions of enormous reptilian ‘water monsters’. They told early European settlers of the inhabitance of these creatures in the Hawkesbury River. Ancient cave art along the river depicts these creatures, which they called ‘Mirreeulla’ (giant water serpent). It was described as having a snake-like head, long neck, large body, two sets of flippers and an eel-like tail. This description matches that of European sightings since last century from Wiseman’s Ferry (western end of the Hawkesbury River) to Broken Bay and Brisbane Waters (eastern end of the river).The physical description once again matches that of a plesiosaur or some ancient marine reptile very much like it.

Rex Gilroy, Australian Unexplained Mysteries Investigator, has gathered hundreds of reported sightings in the Hawkesbury River dating from last century to present day. Boats have been found drifting over the years, their occupants having vanished without a trace. Numerous boats have been found either tipped over or smashed to pieces, by, as the locals claim, the ‘monsters’ that inhabit the river.

Strange slide marks have appeared along the Hawkesbury River’s shore – the marks of massive creatures who have presumably left the water to rest on the banks. These marks appeared which some regularity throughout the 1980’s when several mysterious events took places. Among these was an incident in which a three metre aluminium boat was lifted out of the water and tossed three metres into the air, dislodging its stunned fisherman. He later told police he had been sitting fishing when a large creature had surfaced beneath him.

Around this time, a fifteen metre long-necked reptilian creature was observed as it swam up the river towards the Hawkesbury River Bridge. Eyewitnesses said it was similar to the plesiosaurs of dinosaur times.

THE LAKE GALILEE MONSTER - Lake Galilee is situated in far Western Queensland. It is described as ‘bottomless’ because its depth is unknown. It is surrounded by thick, mountainous, bush country and is only accessible by 4WD vehicle. Aborigines had long abandoned settlement of the lake shores because of giant bunyips that would grab and eat any men who dared to take their fishing canoes out on the lake and any women or children who waded into the water.

These monsters are said to come out of the lake at night and force Aborigines to flee their camps near the lake. Archaeologists who visited the site discovered ancient cave art depicting scenes of ancient Stone Age life. Besides the usual ochre paintings depicting hunting of local animal life, they also found two large ochre paintings of a most unusual animal. It was a bulky, long-necked creature with flippers and a long tail not unlike a plesiosaur.

Aborigines last century described the creature as being 7-10m in length with a long, serpentine neck and head, a large bulky body and long eel-like tail propelled by two pairs of large flippers. Many European sightings match this description. The early settlers at first ridiculed the stories of the Aborigines but as the years passed and many strange, unexplained things happened, the attitudes towards the lake have changed.

In the 1870’s, a local farmer who went fishing in a rowboat on the lake disappeared and his boat was found smashed to pieces. There have been numerous other disappearances since. Livestock drinking at the lake have mysteriously vanished. Shooters exploring bushland around the lake reported finding unusual tracks and slide marks of some large animal in the mud. Campers have reported seeing some enormous dark shape either on the lake shore or lying among the trees on the shoreline at night. When approached, it would return to the water and disappear.

THE SEA SERPENT OF W.A - According to cryptozoologists there are regular sightings of the serpent along the Western Australian coast, particularly between Carnarvon and Broome. Following is a description of the monster from Reverend Brown, a colonial chaplain in 1879.

“When he was almost at rest, and all apparently was in view, I estimated the length to be 60ft, straight and taper, like a long spar with the butt-end, his head and shoulders, showing well above the surface. I can only describe the head as like the end of a log, bluff, about 2ft diameter; on the back we noticed, showing very distinctly above water, several square-topped fins.”

A fisherman from Western Australia has, on two occasions, come across what he claims was a ‘Nessie’ like monster. He described it as being about 13m long, a slimy greenish, blackish colour with four webbed feet, two on each side.

THE MOHA MOHA - The moha moha is Australia’s most famous sea serpent and the only one to be given it’s own official scientific name. Chelosauria lovelli (Miss Lovell’s tortoise lizard). This story was published in the English Journal, ‘Land and Water’. Miss Lovell’s sighting was at Sandy Cape, Fraser Island in June 1890.

The creature was on the dry shore for half an hour within five footsteps of her. The animal was described as half fish, half tortoise, about 27—30ft long. The body was dome shaped, smooth and slate grey in colour. Its tail was about 12ft long and it had a chocolate brown fin. When Miss Lovell showed the sketch she had drawn of it to the local Aborigines, they immediately called it ‘Moha moha’ and said “Saucy Fellow, Meebee” (in English ‘dangerous turtle’).

For eight years the creature had been invading the Aborigines’ camp and attacking them, forcing them to camp inland. This creature was seen on further occasions by Miss Lovell, Sandy Cape lighthouse workers, a group of other local residents and a young Aboriginal boy. Accounts and sketches of these sightings were sent to the natural history museum in London who offered a reward of 100 pounds for the entire animal, 50 pounds for part, and a fair price for head and neck sun dried.