We were visiting D's aunt who lives a few minutes back down the
road towards Deni when she suggested placing a cache down by the
billabong in Conargo. We had a look and thought this is not
a bad spot - nice creek, old rickety bridge, and not a bad spot for
a picnic. Apparently this is were D went swimming in her earlier
years sans bathers! No amount of coaxing would have her give me a
demo today though!
On the way home I was coming up with a story that would tie in
the area with D's family. Those of you that have read some of our
cache pages in the past will know that occasionally I enjoy bending
the truth a little. Well, having a chat to the mother in law (Mon
from Team GraMon) on the following day created a better story than
I could come up with. The bizarre thing is there is apparently a
great degree of truth to this tale!
Conargo, is a small rural town located in the
Riverina region of New South Wales and is situated in the
Conargo Shire on the Billabong Creek, a tributary of the
Murrumbidgee River. The nearest towns are Jerilderie and
Deniliquin.
The Bit about Bunyips
|
The Bunyip is a sort of Australian bogey that was all the
rage in the middle of the nineteenth century. The word "Bunyip" is
derived from the Aboriginal language and is thought to mean
something like 'Devil' or 'Spirit'. To the white people in
Australia it has come to mean any mysterious animal or odd thing
that is hard to explain. Reports of the Bunyip are varied but a
large number of people have claimed to have seen it in the flesh.
Some observers say that it is a species of giant eel that normally
eats fish but is not averse to the occasional human that chances
along. One group of 'witnesses' saw a bunyip in Port Fairy,
Victoria and described it as brown in colour with a long shaggy
mane and a head like a Kangaroo. They swore that it had strange
hypnotic powers that could transport its victim over water. Other
people who have sighted the female Bunyip claim that it is
especially dangerous if you threaten her children. In revenge she
can make the water rise causing serious flooding. Rumour has it
that if this water should creep over the soles of you shoes it
would turn you into a swan. A female Bunyip is to be avoided at all
costs and not just for her horrid makeup and bad fashion sense
either!
The Bit about D's Grandfather
Claude
In the gallery for this cache page you will see 3 newspaper
articles taken from Pastoral Times in Deniliquin during the 1940's.
Now these are actual articles from the newspapers and not ones that
I have played around with in photoshop! It appears that D's
Grandfather Claude Holden and his mate got quite a surprise whilst
they were filling in the washway at Billabong Weir located at
Hartwood Station. The Billabong Weir is on the Billabong Creek
which is not far from where the cache is located! Wooooh! (that is
meant to sound spooky). The newspaper articles tell their story.
Now, I never had the fortune to meet Claude but I do know that
he enjoyed a quiet sherbert or three but swore openly that he was
as sober as a judge on the day this occurred. Quite a bit of debate
arose from this siting and as you will read, other stories came to
light over the following days of other sightings. There were
theories on what Claude and his mate saw which ranged from a musk
duck to a sea lion that escaped from a zoo in Wangaratta -
Team Rubik country!
Whether or not you believe the story or believe in Bunyips it
would be best to keep a close eye on the water in the billabong
near the cache. You never know you might just catch a glimpse of
something and not just one of the local sirens enjoying the water.
Actually, I probably wouldn't do this cache at night, you know,
just in case. Wait! Did you see that? In the water! Nah, just
tricking.
You are looking for an ammo container hidden in a typical
geocaching fashion. Keen observers will note that the log book has
the title "Once a Jolly Swagman" in it which was what the cache was
going to be called until the bunyip story came up. Enjoy.