The Bunyip or “Mochel Mochel”
I am now touching upon a subject that has always been open to argument and doubt, and for that reason I propose to give my own conclusions, after having investigated the matter as thoroughly as possible on the spot, as it were.
From the first, the Aborigines of the “Blucher” tribe were unanimous in their description of the “Mochel Mochel”, which in a way corresponded with that of an otter, also that it was only to be found in and about deep permanent waterholes; further, that it was a very shy animal which required great cunning and stealth to get a glimpse of, owing to its quickness and alertness. Thus armed, I had my opportunity owing to the surroundings of my bush life to come upon my quarry sooner or later. I was told that it could both see and hear under water. That was particularly the case as regards anything moving about on the bank, in the vicinity of its home; further, that it could produce sounds under water. At last my opportunity came, in this way. With my brother and another white man I was bringing a mob of wild horses down from the head of Swan Creek, and when we came to a place known as the junction of the Gap Creek, being some distance ahead of the horses so as to prevent them breaking away on either side, I heard a piercing kind of scream similar to that uttered by a female in terrible distress.
The noise came from the shallow end of the junction hole, and I at once turned in that direction, my horse also having been startled by the scream. Much to my surprise I saw an animal in shape similar to a low set sheepdog, the colour of a platypus, head and whiskers resembling an otter, passing from the shallow water over a a strip of dry land to the deep water. The back view of this creatures head was exactly like the bald head of a blackfellow, which I found corresponded with the figure drawn on the tree at the Bora ground, also with the aboriginal description “Cumi retoic”, meaning “bald head”.
When my companions arrived on the scene they at once saw the frightened look of my horse, and my excitement, and asked what was the matter. On explaining, they then were inclined to treat it as a case of leg pulling, but were soon convinced when they saw the commotion of the water in the hole, and the muddy appearance of it. Before long they were as excited as the writer, and on my suggesting means of securing the animal they promptly over ruled this, saying “no, our horses are more important than the Mochel Mochel”- particularly as there were some three year old unbranded ones in the mob. Under the circumstances there was nothing for it but to abandon the idea of seeing any more of the “Bunyip” just then. But I had made up my mind to do so later on should an opportunity occur. This however, never came. The impression made upon my mind was the “Mochel Mochel” was a kind of otter.
The aborigines had a great dread of the “Mochel Mochel” and nothing could persuade them to go near or bathe in a water hole supposed to be the home of this animal, neither would they camp in the vicinity of such a place, because they always connected the animal as having the same sort of influence as a “Muddlo Stone”. The first time this dread was forcibly brought under my notice was when my brother George and I were having a swim in the Condamine, not far from Canning Downs head station, when hearing a noise above our heads on the bank we looked up and saw “King Darby” and his hunting party. The king was in great terror, exclaiming, “Georgey, Tommy, come out quick, Mochel Mochel sit down there, baal junnim longa fella” meaning that the Bunyip lived in that hole, and had eaten all the fish in it; so out we came, to the intense delight of our aboriginal friends.
To show that the fear of the Bunyip was to a certain extent shared by some of the white people shall give a further illustration. Two men were sent out from the head station at Canning Downs to Lord John Swamp to do some bush work in connection with building a sheep yard on the property now known as “Glenreagh”. They made a camp with the tarpaulin, after which one of them took a bucket and two fishing lines and went to the Condamine. Baiting a line he threw it in, and while in the act of putting a bait on the other hook he turned around to have a look at the cork on the first line, when he saw a good sized animal swimming near the cork, which so frightened him that he ran up the hill to his mate, and threw himself on his sheepskin and blanket, speechless. His mate was alarmed and thought that his comrade had suddenly gone mad, but soon afterwards the latter was able to explain what had happened, and remarked that the animal he saw appeared to have the body of a horse with the bald head of a blackfellow. The result of this fright was that the victim had to be taken into Warwick next day by his mate, where he died three days afterwards.
by Thomas Hall
Warwick
1914