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For
many disbelievers only a personal experience could ever convince them
of the Yowie's existence.
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To
read excerpts from
GIANTS FROM
THE DREAMTIME
The YOWIE in Myth and Reality
Click any Below Chapter (eg: Chapter
1 )
Contents / About the Author / Dedications / Acknowledgements / Forward / Introduction
Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9 / Chapter 10 / Chapter 11 Chapter 12 / Chapter 13 / Chapter 14 / Chapter 15 / Chapter 16 / Chapter 17 / Chapter 18 / Chapter 19 / Chapter 20 / Chapter 21
Chapter 8 Below 
Victoria's Great Hairy Men
Throughout the length
and breadth of victoria, Aborigines know the Yowie by many names, chief of
which is 'Doolagarl', or "hairy man". The Doolagarl was a large
man-like beast, even given huge gorilla-like features in some areas, and therefore
confused with that other 'hairy man' of Gigantopithecus features.
The more man-like Doolagarl was often described as a tool-making, fire-making
cannibal, whereas the more gorilla-like form was an herbivorous, insectivorous
feeder. The Aborigines of Victoria, particularly the mountain tribes, as with
other tribes throughout the eastern Australian mountain ranges, both feared
and respected the cannibalistic form of Doolagarl or Yowie, and advised early
European settlers to do the same.
These traditions have been collected and studied by a number of anthropologists,
who have subsequently dismissed the 'hairy man' tales as nothing more than
'interesting' myths.
However, having spent a lifetime gathering information on the Yowie mystery,
I am today, more than ever convinced that the creatures cannot have been the
product of imagination, but the descriptions of primitive races dating back
to prehistoric times.
People who have travelled and camped with the Aborigines on the NSW far south
coast and down into Victoria, have been given persistent and consistent accounts
of the 'hairy man' or Doolagarl who, say the Aborigines, still survives in
the uninhabited, forested mountainous country inland from the coast. The Aborigines
are wary of Cockwhy and Polawombera mountains on the NSW far south coast,
where, they say, numbers of the Doolagarl still live.
Likewise they feared the Tathra forests wherein these creatures roamed in
groups, killing and eating any Aborigines unfortunate enough to fall into
their clutches. No tribesmen dared venture alone into these wilds for fear
of meeting up with one or more of these man-monsters. It was a region where
only large groups of food-gathering warriors dared to enter, weapons at the
ready in case of contact with the dreaded Doolagarls.
I have said the Aborigines describe two distinct forms of Doolagarl; one a
primitive, tool-making man-like cannibal, which sounds like Homo erectus;
the other a more gorilla-like herbivorous form reminiscent of Gigantopithecus.
According to the far south coastal and north eastern Victorian tribes, the
gorilla-like Doolagarl was described as a hairy, big-chested, muscular beast
with long, powerful legs, long, swinging powerful arms and big hands. His
forehead went back from his eyebrows and his head was sunk into his shoulders,
giving him a stooped appearance as he strode about the bushland.
In the old days, say the Aborigines, no tribespeople would let their campfire
go out at night, for if they did, a Doolagarl might come out of the bush and
carry one of them off. He would tear off arms and legs, or smash the victim's
body against a tree or large boulder and eat it raw. Obviously this Doolagarl
was not the vegetarian form of the 'hairy man'!
Even in modern times the Aborigines of south-coastal NSW and north-eastern
Victoria fear the "hairy men and women" of the coastal ranges, and
have many tales of encounters with these creatures.
Take for example the story given to this author by part Aboriginal, Mr James
Brittle:
"Late one afternoon in October 1978, myself and a group of several other
part Aboriginal mates were returning in a truck from a bushland property outside
Towamba, 16 km west of Eden, where we had been visiting friends."
"As we drove along a bush track a few kilometres outside the town, the
vehicle broke down, forcing us to walk a few kilometres into the town for
help. Night fell and we had to use a couple of torches to see our way."
"After a while, as we talked, one of my mates in the rear heard a sound,
and flashing our torches back down the track, we saw the tall, dark hairy
figure of a Doolagarl man-beast."
"We were terrified. We shouted at the creature, and flashed the torches
at his eyes, hoping this would drive him off like our tribal elders had claimed,
but it had no effect on him other than to make him shield his eyes with his
big hands as he strode towards us."
"We began throwing rocks and pieces of wood at him, but as he continued
to approach us we took off, running frantically along the track."
"After a minute or so we realised the hairy monster had vanished into
the dense scrub. Catching our breath for a moment, we continued to hurry along
the track."
"Eventually we reached the end of the track on the outskirts of the town,
and coming out onto a sealed road, we looked back to see, to our horror the
hairy man-beast again, standing in the middle of the track. He stood a good
2m tall. His face looked like a Gorilla's and he let out a sort of growling
noise, before walking off into the bush. That was the last time we ever used
that track, and we got the NRMA bloke to pick up the truck.
Back in the 1940's Jimmy Cook, a part Aboriginal, was employed on a farm in
the Orbost district of north-eastern Victoria. One day he set out to walk
into town.
An hour or two later he returned to the farm in an exhausted state, trembling
and for some time unconsolable. After he had sufficiently recovered, he told
his employers that, on his way along a bush road he had spotted a 'hairy man'
watching him from nearby bushes. The man-sized creature began to follow him
and Jimmy 'took to his heels' screaming in terror.
He made for the nearby Snowy River, and upon reaching the bank, clambered
over rocks, wading into the water to the opposite bank. The hairy creature,
having reached the water's edge, stood watching him escape.
The Orbost district was the scene of a great many 'Doolagarl' reports during
the 19th century, and these have continued on through the 20th century to
the present day.
Excerpts
from my 2001 Book "Giants From the Dreamtime-The Yowie in Myth and Reality.
Available Now. To Order Your Copy Details Are On The Main
Homepage.
To Continue Reading Click On Image 
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Below For Chapter 9
Chapter
9
Abominable Snowmen
of Southern NSW
Chapter 9
Click any Below Chapter (eg: Chapter 1 )
Contents / About the Author / Dedications / Acknowledgements / Forward / Introduction
Chapter 1 / Chapter 2 / Chapter 3 / Chapter 4 / Chapter 5 / Chapter 6 / Chapter 7 / Chapter 8 / Chapter 9 / Chapter 10 / Chapter 11 Chapter 12 / Chapter 13 / Chapter 14 / Chapter 15 / Chapter 16 / Chapter 17 / Chapter 18 / Chapter 19 / Chapter 20 / Chapter 21
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