These are the 33 Aboriginal stories from the Dreaming in Gadi Mirrabooka. Click links to start reading.
- Mirrabooka – Story About the Southern Cross
The constellation, Crux Australis, or the Southern Cross, was regularly used for navigation down though the ages, by both European navigators and the Aboriginal people. - Beginning Island
WHEN THE WORLD was young, all things took their shape. Trowenna, the heart-shaped island we call Tasmania, was very small, - Lumarai, Mother Snake (Rainbow Serpent)
IN THE BEGINNING, the land was flat and the great mother snake lay in a deep sleep, in the centre of the earth. - Murray Cod
BACK WHEN THE WORLD WAS YOUNG, a giant Murray cod existed. He was so big that, whenever he moved his body, he would leave deep tracks right across the land. - Boomerang – Alinga
AT THE BEGINNING OF TIME, Alinga, the Lizard man, was a great and powerful warrior. Alinga was known and respected throughout the land for his exceptional skill in boomerang throwing, - Birth of the Butterflies
A LONG TIME AGO, back in the Dreamtime, all the creatures of the land could talk with one another. They lived happily together and had no experience of death. - Why the Kookaburra Laughs
WHEN THE WORLD WAS YOUNG, there was no sun in the sky as we have today. There were only the stars and moon, that shone on the earth. And the stars were the campfires of all the Sky People. - Whale Man and His Canoe
BACK IN THE DREAMING, when the world was young, ice melted. The water levels rose and some of the land began to disappear. All the animals wanted to escape to the other side, but no one had a canoe big enough to carry them, except the Whale man. - How the Birds Got their Colors
WHEN THE WORLD WAS YOUNG, a beautiful arch appeared in the sky. This arch, which was the rainbow, seemed to take color from all around. There were all the reds, the blues, greens, yellows and purples. I - First Platypus – Gaygar
BACK IN THE DREAMING, the Narran Lake was such a lovely place to live. It was always full of lovely, clear water and all our water birds lived there, as they still do, today. - How the Kangaroo got her Pouch
WHEN THE WORLD WAS YOUNG, the Gentle Kangaroo Mother was, like all mothers, always looking after Joey, her young baby. Young Joey was like most children. - Little Flying Fox
HAVE YOU EVER seen a flying fox? Well… he has a body of a bat, the head of a fox and he only eats the fruit of a tree. - How Koolah the Koala Lost His Tail
A LONG TIME AGO, when the world was young, Roola, the Koala and Euro, the Wallaby, were the best of friends. - Pikkuw the Crocodile
A LONG TIME AGO, back in the Dreaming, there lived a tribe, on the banks of a river, up in the Cape York area. Amongst this tribe was a tall, handsome fella, named Pikkuw, who had fallen in love with a beautiful married woman. - Goolbree – How the Emu Lost Its Wings
A LONG TIME AGO, in the Dreamtime, Emus were huge birds that had big wings, with beautiful feathers. - Story of the Didgeridoo -This is the story of what the white people call Didgeridoo; and the Aboriginal people from the Gulf Country, call Yidiki
- How the Night Owl Came To Be
A LONG TIME AGO, the Ngemba tribe had a camp between the two rivers. Each day, the women and the men of the tribe would go out hunting and gathering food. - Myee, the Bogong Moth Woman
A LONG TIME AGO, back in the Dreaming, the Bogong Moth was a man. He was just very ordinary; a dull gray color. But he had a wife, called Myee, whose wings were all the colors of the rainbow. She was a beautiful woman and highly inquisitive. - Frog and Lyrebird
IN THE DAYS LONG AGO, a stream fed from the Blue Mountains into the Murray River. As we know, all streams have bubbles in them. But, in this stream, the bubbles were ALIVE. They were the little crystal homes of Water Spirits. - Special Platypus
IN THE DAYS LONG AGO, the ancestors were deciding what totem creature they would look after. At that time, all the creatures on the earth were fighting amongst themselves, to decide who was the most important creature of all. - Tidalik – A giant frog
WHEN THE WORLD WAS YOUNG, Tidalick, the little frog, became very thirsty. He began to drink all the water in his waterhole. But, his thirst was not quenched and he soon found more water, within a nearby river and drank and drank and drank. - Wambayah, the Turtle
A LONG TIME AGO, Wayambah the Warrior, from the Ngemba tribe, was returning from hunting, when he saw a beautiful young woman from a neighbouring tribe, picking waterlillies from the lagoon. - Brolga – a bird story
BROLGA WAS A YOUNG GIRL who loved to dance. She lived in a time when women and girls were not allowed to dance, but had to sit down and keep the beat, while the men danced. - Bunyip in the Forest
A LONG TIME AGO, back in the Dreaming, old Koala mother didn’t carry the little fella on her back. She just kept him by her side, while she was feeding and had a sleep during the day. - Little Koala and the Bunyip
A LONG TIME AGO, back in the Dreaming, old Koala mother didn’t carry the little fella on her back. She just kept him by her side, while she was feeding and had a sleep during the day. - Min Min Light
A LONG TIME AGO, in the Dreamtime, there were no stars in the sky. Everyone in the tribe would sit around the fire, all night. The children would look up with wonder, into the dreadful blackness overhead. - Djididjidi and Kuburi
A LONG TIME AGO, high in the mountains in Western Australia, there lived two giant animals. They were a giant snake and a giant wild dingo, which used to hunt down and eat people - Marmoo and Biami
WHEN THE WORLD WAS YOUNG, Biamee, the Creator Spirit, came down to earth. There was nothing here then, and Biamee decided to make it a beautiful place to live. - Belah, the Sun Woman
AT THE BEGINNING OF TIME, Belah, the warrior Sun Woman, whose campfire was the only light on earth, at that time, liked the taste of Aboriginal flesh. She would kill, roast and eat anyone she caught. - Sturt Desert Pea
A LONG TIME AGO, back when the world was young, there were two young people who were very much in love. The young man, Borola, who was tall and handsome, was from a different tribe from the girl, Purlimil, but they loved one another, regardless. - Fire Keeper
IN THE BEGINNING, the only person who possessed fire was the Firekeeper, who had a magic stick, which he would use to make fires. - First Waratah
WHEN THE WORLD WAS YOUNG, in a valley among the mountains, there lived a beautiful young maiden, called Krubi. Daily, she wrapped a bright red kangaroo cloak around herself and left the village for a place in the mountains. - Girilambone – Place of Falling Stars
A LONG TIME AGO, the Weilwan tribe had a big camp out near Guddie Springs. The springs had beautiful clear water. But, something happened, to change the water.
