and the story of the Goanna that chased the snake away.
Aboriginal mythology and the associated stories are so fascinating, my mum has a whole bunch of books of various stories relating to creation stories of Aboriginal lands and legends, some of the earliest stories that she read to me were from these books, one which I remember vividly was the story of the rainbow serpent and the way it created the land for the first time, another about who some people where cut out of a snake only to have them turned into birds :) ok, they may be a bit lost in time and memory there.. but hey its been a few years ;)
I have visited Goanna Headland many times over the years, mostly not knowing how culturally significant this location is, but more recently becoming aware of its history – this place contains a Rain Cave (sacred place for trying to get rain to come) , nope i have not gone in there 'cause you get bad kaarma and if you do and floods occur.. apparently :) its got some sacred ceremonial grounds (up on Snapper rock) and neatest of all a great big goanna forming the shape of the whole headland.
It is also of course not complete without some some quality input from the newly arrived europeans who felt it necessary to kill a bunch of aboriginal people out on the headland, i try and avoid thinking about that as i walk out in pitch darkness to get down to the rocks by first light :/
Now, back to that story about the Goanna who chased the bad snake away, apparently the Goanna rests here keeping a watchful eye out to the ocean for the return of the snake, well, i'm here to tell you Dirawong (thats the Goanna spirit) these snakes are making a mockery of you ;) they are everywhere out there on the headland ! and those Kangaroos, they are certainly not little ones :) feel free to wake up and shuffle a few of those shakey snakes on their way – on a positive note, I have noticed a significant decline in the number of spider encounters in my walks out to the headland, possibly due to the time of year etc, but sheesh thats a welcome change not to face plant those big fat spiders that string across the path.
This picture is taken on one of the legs (the rear one) of the goanna, its one of the many cool rocky outcroppings filled with nooks and crannies perfect for the seascrapers taking a photo or two.
So, here's to you, the people of the Bundjalung Nation, who sadly no longer inhabit, in the way they should, the lands of Goanna Headland.
