Funnel Web Spiders

There are more than 40 varieties of funnel web spider in Australia, but the northern funnel web spider has the most toxic venom of them all.
The northern funnel web spider is rarely found near populated areas, so its almost as deadly cousin, the Sydney funnel web spider, is classed as the more dangerous of the two. Its venom has neurotoxins that attack the human nervous system, which in severe cases can result in death.




The funnel web spider is one of the three most dangerous spiders in the world and are regarded by some to be the most dangerous.

Funnel web spiders are medium-to-large in size, with body lengths ranging from 1 cm to 5 cm (0.4" to 2"). They are darkly coloured, ranging from black to blue-black to plum to brown, with a glossy, hairless carapace covering the front part of the body.

There have been 27 recorded deaths in Australia in the last 100 years from spider bites. Bites from Sydney funnel-web spiders have caused 13 deaths (seven in children),although since the introduction of antivenoms there have been no deaths from funnel web spider bites.

The Funnel web spider makes its burrows in moist, cool, sheltered habitats—under rocks, in and under rotting logs, some in rough-barked trees (occasionally metres above ground).

They are commonly found in suburban rockeries and shrubberies, rarely in lawns or other open terrain. A funnel web spider burrow characteristically has irregular silk trip-lines radiating from the entrance. Unlike some related trapdoor spiders, the funnel web spider do not build lids to their burrows.

Australian Reptile Park is the only place in the world where the Sydney funnel web spider is milked. The venom is then sent off to the Commonwealth Serum Labs to become antivenom. Besides the daily funnel web spider milking show put on by the park, a large window displays feeding and venom extraction in the spider lab.

Saltwater Crocodile Attacks

Saltwater Crocodile Attacks !
A backpacker in Australia got the fright of his life when a massive crocodile he was "teasing" suddenly exploded from the water and nearly sank its teeth into him.

Quokka Rottnest Island

The name 'quokka' comes from the name the Aboriginal people of that part of the southwest called it. Naturalist, John Gilbert in 1840,noted the Aboriginal name 'quokka' when he witnessed a 'quokka hunt` being carried out by traditional owners of the region, the Bibbulmum people.

Blob fish save the blobfish

He may not be from the Outback, but this weird little critter had to get a mention!

Australia Uluru Ayers Rock

Uluru is one of Australia's most recognisable natural icons. The world-renowned sandstone formation stands 348 m (1,142 ft) high and measures 9.4 km (5.8 mi) in circumference.

Australian Aboriginal Art

Australian Indigenous cultures are rich and diverse, as is the artwork they produce which can involve a wide range of media including painting on leaves, wood carving, rock carving, sculpture, ceremonial clothing and sand painting. Missionary colonists first promoted the creation and sales of authentic aboriginal art

as a way for Aboriginals to earn monetary support.

What began as a tourist trade has evolved into the creation of an art genre lauded by critics and embraced by art patrons. .

Authentic Aboriginal Art

Internationally recognized as a unique form of art, it is welcomed overseas and respected and admired by art critics everywhere. Of late, it has also come to the attention of not only art investors but also to the wider audience, as astute buyers realize its potential in the marketplace. Hailed as arguably the last great art movement, works produced emanate from a 40,000 year Culture and Tradition. Whilst steeped in what was originally viewed as ethnographic historics, the  authentic aboriginal art produced are very often amazingly modern in design and colour and therefore aesthetically pleasing.

The imagery of the Aboriginal culture, as can be seen in many of the sacred sites, rock and cave paintings, used few colours as they were often made from what was available locally. Some colours were mined from ‘ochre pits’, being used for both painting and ceremonies, with ochre also traded between clans and at one time could only be collected by specific men within the clan. Other pigments were made from clay, wood ash or animal blood.

Authentic Aboriginal Art

Exploitation
There have been cases of some exploitative dealers (known as carpetbaggers) that have sought to profit from the success of the Aboriginal art movements. Since Geoffrey Bardon's time and in the early years of the Papunya movement, there has been concerns about the exploitation of the largely illiterate and non-English speaking artists.

"People are clearly taking advantage...Especially the elderly people. I mean, these are people that, they're not educated; they haven't had a lot of contact with white people. They've got no real basic understanding, you know, of the law and even business law. Obviously they've got no real business sense. A dollar doesn't really have much of a meaning to them, and I think to treat anybody like that is just… it's just not on in this country."Call for ACCC to investigate Aboriginal Art industry

Authentic Aboriginal Art,Tommy Carroll painting  Nowanns – Doon Doon




Australian Senate Inquiry
In August 2006, following concerns raised about unethical practices in the Indigenous art sector, the Australian Senate initiated an inquiry into issues in the sector.

"The material they call Aboriginal art is almost exclusively the work of fakers, forgers and fraudsters. Their work hides behind false descriptions and dubious designs. The overwhelming majority of the ones you see in shops throughout the country, not to mention Darling, are fakes, pure and simple. There is some anecdotal evidence here in Darwin at least, they have been painted by backpackers working on industrial scale wood production."Sydney Morning Herald (2007) Backpackers fake Aboriginal art, Senate told

The inquiry's final report, handed down on 21 June 2007, made 29 recommendations, including:



Greater public funding for infrastructure in the sector.

More intensive policing efforts to try and eliminate unethical business practices.

Adoption of a code of practice across the sector.

Government agencies and collecting institutions to implement a code when dealing with Indigenous visual art.

The report also raised the prospect of law reforms if necessary to change the way the industry was regulated.



Authentic Aboriginal Art

Artlandish Aboriginal Art Gallery is showcasing to the World, one of the largest and most comprehensive on line Galleries of Authentic Australian Aboriginal Art and Artefact's.


Enjoy the wonderful talent of the artists presented, which reflects their country and a culture which is timeless.

Authentic paintings such as Rusty Peters and Tommy Carroll  are available from Artlandish see their collection

List of Australian Opals

 

Some say you have to be a bit crazy to mine opal, the heat, the flies, the isolation, but the sacrifices made can be very rewarding.

All the Australian opal fields are situated in arid inland areas of the Outback, and the opal is found at shallow depths, normally less than 30 metres, in deeply weathered rock in which there has been considerable silica movement.

What is opal?

Australian Opal is an amorphous form of silica related to quartz, a mineraloid form, not a mineral. 3% to 21% of the total weight is water, but the content is usually between 6% to 10%. It is deposited at a relatively low
temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most commonly found with limonite, sandstone, rhyolite, marl and basalt. 97% of opal is produced in Australia.
Australian Opal ranges from clear through white, gray, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, magenta, rose, pink, slate, olive, brown, and black. Of these hues, the reds against black are the most rare, whereas white and greens are the most common.

Worlds Largest
The town of Coober Pedy in South Australia is a major source of opal. The world's largest and most valuable gem opal "Olympic Australis" was found in August 1956 at the "Eight Mile" opal field in Coober Pedy. It weighs 17,000 carats (3450 grams) and is 11 inches long (280 mm), with a height of 4¾ inches (120 mm) and a width of 4½ inches (115 mm). It is valued at AUD$2,500,000

Sinking A Shaft



Although this is one of the most effective ways of finding opal, it is really hard work. The length of the shaft could be as little as three metres or as long as 20 metres. A drilling rig with a large bucket auger would save a miner several days of hard hand digging.


A variety of miner's tools are needed, including a hand windlass or motorised winch that is placed over the hole to lift dirt to the surface or by using large Vacuum machinery.

 Puddling And Rumbling


This technique is used particularly at Lightning Ridge. Once the opal dirt has been transported from the shaft by trucks, puddling is performed at specially constructed dams.
A puddler is a large mesh-lined drum attached to a motor. This device rotates and turns the clay into sludge as water is pumped into the drum. The sludge escapes through the mesh. Only the hard pieces - rocks, stones and 'opal nobbies'- are captured in the mesh.



Open-cut Mining


This mining technique is created by running over a large area with a bulldozer, slicing through thin layers of sandstone until the opal level is reached. Although this method is more expensive than shaft mining, the chances of finding opal are increased because such a large area is being covered.

Noodling


In simple terms, a noodler is a person who goes over what other miners have discarded as 'dud' mullock heaps. All that is needed is a sieve and a very keen eye. An abandoned open-cut mine is another good place for a noodler, using a rake and sieve for tools.

Living Underground

 

Like the locals that live in the opal town of Coober Pedy South Australia, visitors can stay underground, at The Desert Cave Hotel.

Sleeping underground is a unique experience. Quiet, cool, dark and airy - the rooms are spacious with high ceilings. Most visitors say that sleeping underground gives them the best night's sleep they have ever had. It is an experience not to miss. The Desert Cave Hotel also has underground shops, a cafe, an opal interpretive centre, and an underground bar and gaming room. The hotel offers visitors the best opportunity to experience Coober Pedy 'dugout' living.

Get Rich

Tours are also available in Coober Pedy, where you will be supplied with a hard hat, torch and handpick, so you can get down and dirty, fossicking for your own fortune of opal.








TYPES OF OPAL

Agate Opal. Banded variety of Opal.



Amatite. Opal in the form of thick mounds, formed from hot silica-rich springs. See also Geyserite.



Amber Opal. Opal with a brownish to yellowish background colour, resembling Amber.



Andamooka Opal. Opal from Andamooka, South Australia.



Banded Opal. Form of common opal with colour bands. Synonym of Agate Opal.



Bandfire Opal. Precious Opal with play of colours in wavy bands.



Black Opal. Precious Opal with a black, dark blue, dark green, dark grey or similar darkly coloured background or base



colour. Black Opal is the most valuable form of Opal.



Bone Opal. Opal pseudomorph after a bone.



Boulder Opal. Precious Opal from Queensland, Australia, found in the cracks of, or as coatings on, ironstone or sandstone boulders.



Cachalong Opal. Opaque, highly porous type of Common Opal.



Cherry Opal. Orange-red to bright red variety of Mexican Fire Opal.



Chloropal. Common Opal similar to Prase Opal, but with a lighter green hue.



Chrysopal. Common Opal similar to Prase Opal, but with a golden-green colour.



Claro Opal. Transparent Precious Opal from Mexico with an intense red, green, blue, and yellow play of colour.



Common Opal. Any Opal lacking play of colour.



Contra Luz Opal. Precious Opal where the play of colour is visible only when a light source is behind the stone. Coober Pedy Opal. High quality Precious Opal from Coober Pedy, South Australia.



Crystal Opal. Transparent to translucent Precious Opal where play of colour is visible on the surface and in the interior of the stone.



Dark Opal. Synonym of Black Opal.



Diatomite. Opal replacement of microscopic shells of diatoms (type of microscopic organism) clustered together. It is white, opaque, and chalky in texture. Synonym of Tripolite, Fuller's Earth, and Diatomaceous Opal.



Ethiopian opal form welo and Gondar ,new ly discovered opal fields dierect from opal wholesalers and miners



Fire Opal. Fire Opal is incorrectly used to describe Precious Opal, or Opal with play of colour. The true definition of Fire Opal is Opal with an orange to red colour. If the Fire Opal displays play of colour, it is more correctly known as Precious Fire Opal.



Flame Opal. Precious Opal where the play of colour consists of red streaks or bands that flicker like a flame when the stone is rotated.



Flash Opal. Precious Opal with large schillers that abruptly appear and disappear as the stone is rotated.



Flashfire Opal. Synonym of Flash Opal (above)



Fossil Opal. Opal pseudomorph of organic matter such as shell, bone, and trees.



Gelite. Opal (or Chalcedony) as an accessory mineral that acts as the bonding agent of Sandstone or other cemented rock fragments.



Geyserite. Opal formed from deposition of hot water springs. Also called Perlite, Fiorite, or Geyser Opal. See also Amatite.



Gilson Opal. Synthetically produced Opal.



Girasol. Yellow or orange variety of Precious Opal in which the play of colour seems to follow the sun as the stone is rotated.



Glass Opal. Synonym of Hyalite



Gold Opal. Common Opal with a golden hue.



Harlequin Opal. Precious Opal in which the play of colour is arranged in a consistent harlequin, diamond-shaped, or rectangular-shaped pattern that is very vivid. Harlequin Opal is one of the rarest and most prized forms of Opal.



Honey Opal. Transparent to translucent Opal with an orange to orange-brown, honey-coloured background. It may or may not display play of colour.



Hungarian Opal. Any Precious Opal from Europe. However, nowadays this term often refers to any White Opal, regardless of where it was found.



Hyacinth Opal. Synonym of Girasol



Hyalite. Colourless, misty-blue, or sky-blue transparent variety of Common Opal. Usually forms botryoidal masses as well as strange and unusual forms. All Hyalite fluoresces green.



Hydrophane. White, opaque, highly porous Opal, that, when placed in water, allows the water to seep into it. This causes the stone to become transparent and almost invisible while in the water.



Iridot. Old name given to Opal for a short period of time when Opal had a reputation of causing bad luck.



Isopyre. Impure, dark red form of Opal. Isopyre was once thought to be a separate mineral.



Jasper Opal. Brecciated Jasper in which the cementing material is Opal.



Jelly Opal. A transparent Precious Opal with a gelatinous appearance and a bluish sheen. Jelly Opal may also refer to a colourless, transparent Common Opal.


Lechosos Opal. Precious Opal with a milky-white background colour displaying a strong play of colour. May also refer to Opal with a strong green schiller.



Lemon Opal. Common Opal with a lemon-yellow colour.



Levin Opal. Precious Opal with long and thin, lightning-like flashes.



Light Opal. Synonym of White Opal.



Lightning Ridge Opal. Opal from Lightning Ridge, New South Wales Australia. Although different forms of Opal are found there, this term usually represents the high quality Black Opal found there.



Lithoxyl Opal. Wood Opal where the original structure of the tree is very apparent.



Liver Opal. Synonym of Menilite (below)



Myrickite black glass. A yellow-green Common Opal with black inclusions an imitation Opal produced from resin




Menilite. Opaque, greyish-brown form of Common Opal. Also known as Liver Opal.



Mexican Fire Opal. Form of transparent Opal from Mexico, usually with an orange or red colour, highly desired as a gem. Although scientifically considered a Common Opal, it is rather rare and much sought after. If it exhibits a play of colour, it is known as Precious Fire Opal.



Milk Opal. Opal with a milky-white colour. Controversy exists whether the name Milky Opal is coined for a milky white Common Opal or a milky white Precious Opal.



Moss Opal. Common Opal containing inclusions resembling moss.



Mother of Opal. Precious Opal with bright colour specks filling the pores of sandstone or ironstone.



Mother of Pearl Opal. Banded Opal used as cameos.



Mountain Opal. Opal from igneous environments. Also called Volcanic Opal.



Neslite. Common Opal similar to Menilite, but darker grey in colour. It was once a popular material for sword handles.



Nevada Opal. Opal from the Virgin Valley (Humboldt Co.), Nevada.



Onyx Opal. Common Opal resembling banded Onyx.



Opal Matrix. Thin layer of Precious Opal on host rock. Small rock fragments are used in jewellery.



Opaline. Opaline is synonymous with Opal Matrix (above), but was also an old term used to describe Opal from Australia.



Opalite. Opalite has many connotations. It may refer to an impure form of Opal



Opalized Bone. Synonym of Bone Opal



Opalized Fossil. Synonym of Fossil Opal



Opalized Shell. Synonym of Shell Opal



Opalized Wood. Synonym of Wood Opal



Painted Boulder. Sandstone boulders with a coating of Precious Opal. When used in jewellery, this term is synonymous with Opal Matrix.



Pearl Opal. Synonym of Tabasheer



Pineapple Opal. Opal pseudomorph after Ikaite that resembles a pineapple. It is found only in White Cliffs (New South Wales), Australia. The pseudomorphed mineral was originally thought to be Glauberite, but studies now prove it to be Ikaite.



Pinfire Opal. Precious Opal with very small, pinhead-size colour flashes.



Pinpoint Opal. Australian synonym of Pinfire Opal



Pipe Opal. Opal formed as a filling of long, cylindrical cavities in rock. Pipe Opals range in size from several inches to many feet.



Pitch Opal. Yellow to brown Common Opal with a pitchy lustre.



Potch. Australian term for Common Opal.



Prase Opal. Green to dark green form of Common Opal.



Precious Fire Opal. Fire Opal displaying play of colour.



Precious Opal. Any Opal exhibiting a play of colour.



Prime d'Opal. Synonym of Mother of Opal



Pyrophane. Precious Opal in which the play of colour wanders about and reappears at random. This term is sometimes incorrectly used to describe Girasol.



Queensland Opal. Synonym of Boulder Opal



Quinzite Opal. Rose to pink coloured Opal. It is usually without play of colour, but a few examples displaying play of colour are known. Quinzite Opal is synonymous with Quinzite, Quincite, Quincite Opal, and Rose Opal.



Radiolite Opal. Common Opal of a smoky-brown colour caused by inclusions of the exoskeletons of a unicellular marine organism known as radiolaria. May also be called Radio Opal.



Rainbow Opal. Precious Opal where the play of colour is seen in curved bands, somewhat resembling a rainbow.



Red Flash Opal. Precious Opal with red colour flashes that swiftly appear and disappear as the stone is rotated.



Resin Opal. Common Opal with a yellow-brown colour and resinous lustre.



Rumanite. Opal from Romania.



Seam Opal. Opal found in the seams or large cracks of rock. May also specifically refer to masses of white Common Opal containing bands of precious White Opal.



Semiopal. Term sometimes used to describe any type of Common Opal, but many times alludes to particular forms of Common Opal, such as Wax Opal, Prase Opal, etc. Semiopal is also written as Semi-opal, and is synonymous with Half-opal.



Shell Opal. Opal pseudomorph after a shell.



Slocum Stone. A synthetically grown Opal. Also called Slocum Opal.



Sun Opal. Name that describes several types of Opal. May refer to Fire Opal, Mexican Fire Opal, Honey Opal, or Amber Opal.



Tabasheer. Opal occurring as an organic by product. It forms by the hardening of a secretion issued from certain bamboo, forming a porous, rounded mass of Opal.



Virgin Valley Opal. Opal from the Virgin Valley (Humboldt Co.), Nevada.



Wash Opal. Waterworn Opal pebbles from alluvial deposits.



Water Opal. Synonym of Jelly Opal



Wax Opal. Yellow to brown Common Opal with a waxy lustre.



White Cliffs Opal. Opal from the White Cliffs, New South Wales, Australia



White Opal. Precious Opal with light body colours (white, yellow, cream, etc.). Differentiated from Black Opal, which has a dark background colour.



Wood Opal. Any Opal that formed a pseudomorph after wood from a tree, and retains the original shape and appearance of the wood. Wood Opal may refer to both Common Opal and Precious Opal, but the term usually refers to large pieces of Common Opal.



Yowah Nut. Small, rounded form of Boulder Opal from Yowah (Queensland), Australia in a nodules embedded in ironstone. Closely related to Boulder Opal, it occurs most often as walnut-sized ironstone nodules containing pockets, veining, or sprinklings of vivid Precious Opal.

The Australian Outback

The term "the outback" is generally used to refer to locations that are comparatively more remote than those areas named "the bush". The Outback is the vast, remote, arid area of Australia.

What Religion are aboriginals?

Aboriginal religion, like many other religions, is characterised by having a god or gods who created people and the surrounding environment during a particular creation period at the beginning of time. Aboriginal people are very religious and spiritual, but rather than praying to a single god they cannot see, each group generally believes in a number of different deities, whose image is often depicted in some tangible, recognisable form. This form may be that of a particular landscape feature, an image in a rock art shelter, or in a plant or animal form.

As opposed to Christians and believers of many other religions who go to a church or a mosque to pray, Aboriginal People express their beliefs in spiritual rituals. In the old days when they all lived traditional life, they went to their sacred mountain or any other natural feature that was believed to be their creator (different tribes had different objects), and they performed spiritual ceremonies.



Similar to other religions, there was a time in Aboriginal belief when things were created. This “Creation Period” was the time when the Ancestral Beings created landforms, such as certain animals digging, creating lagoons or pushing up mountain ranges, or the first animals or plants being made.

Many Aboriginal People have also changed their beliefs since European invasion. Early missionaries forced them to learn the Bible, so there are some Aboriginal People who are Christians. There are even some Muslims, even though they are much fewer than Christians.

But most Aboriginal People haven't given up their original beliefs, they still believe in their own creation story, although probably in a new perspective. They now know that they have been in Australia for 60,000 years, so the Dreamtime has now changed from "the beginning of the time" to 60,000 years ago.





God is either necessary or unnecessary. 
God is not unnecessary, therefore God must be necessary.


Therefore, God exists.

Australia Dinosaur fossils

Dinosaurs Australia! Much of Queensland's Outback was once part of the 'Great Inland Sea' of Australia, resulting in the region being rich in fossils.

Queensland's Age of Dinosaurs spans three geological Periods, the Triassic, Jurassic and the Cretaceous Period, which includes some of the world's oldest evidence for dinosaurs.


During the time that Queensland dinosaurs roamed the land, swimming reptiles such as plesiosaurs, pliosaurs and ichthyosaurs dominated the seas. Their remains were preserved in rocks in central and western Queensland - site of a vast inland sea 100 million years ago.

Dinosaurs Australia! A carnivorous theropod, Banjo is the most complete meat-eating dinosaur skeleton yet found in Australia.

Australovenator has been coined as Australia's answer to Velociraptor for its speed, razor-sharp teeth and three large slashing claws on each hand. At approximately 5 metres long, 1.5 metres high at the hip and weighing 500 kg, Australovenator was many times bigger than Velociraptor.

Banjo is named after the famous Australian poet Banjo Patterson who wrote Waltzing Matilda in Winton in 1885.


Estimated to have lived 100-98 million years ago in the Mid-Cretaceous (Latest Albian) period. 

Dinosaurs Australia! Much of Queensland's Outback was once part of the 'Great Inland Sea' of Australia, resulting in the region being rich in fossils. Visit Hughenden, Richmond and Winton on Australia’s Dinosaur Trail for your introduction to life during the Cretaceous Period. Discover the prehistoric creatures that roamed the land and marine reptiles which swam in ancient inland seas around 100 million years ago. You can also visit the world’s best-preserved dinosaur stampede at Lark Quarry Dinosaur Trackways near Winton.

Aboriginal Dream Time


Dinosaurs Australia!

Australian Aborigines also posses a number of equally fantastic legends of gigantic reptillian beasts whose descriptions and habits told for thousands of years would fit the exact description of monsters known only to scientific textbooks of Palaeontologists. According to the folklore of the former tribes of the area around Lake Alexandrina, South Australia, there once lived back in the Dream Time a giant reptillian beast which was taller than the trees and which a great hunter named Wyungare killed by spearing the creature. The monster was said to have moved quickly upon its hind legs whose feet possessed great claws. Its two front legs were too small to be useful and its had a fearsome head with sharp teeth.

Dinosaur Eggs Recipe


Hard-boil eggs and dye them green with food coloring. Use markers to speckle the eggs. Put the eggs in a "nest" (a basket filled with artificial grass). Invite the students to taste the "dinosaur eggs".

Frill necked lizard

The amazing looking Frill necked lizard is found in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, Southern New Guinea and Northern Australia. This is also known as frilled dragon. The skin of this animal folded back like frills against its head and neck, hence the name.
When the lizard is frightened, it gapes its mouth, exposing a bright pink or yellow lining; the frill flares out as well, displaying bright orange and red scales. This reaction is often used to discourage predators or during courtship. The lizard is a member of the agamid family. It a relatively large lizard, growing up to 91.4 cm.

The frill-necked lizard is found mainly in the northern regions of Australia and southern New Guinea. The lizard inhabits humid climates such as those in the tropical savannah woodlands.
The frill-necked lizard is an arboreal lizard, meaning it spends a majority of its time in the trees. The lizard ventures to the floor only in search of food, or to engage in territorial conflicts.

Like many lizards, frill-necked lizards are insectivorous, feeding on cicadas, beetles, and termites. They especially favour butterflies and moths, their larvae even more so. Though insects are their primary source of food, they also consume spiders, other lizards, and small mammals.





GA:NI King of the Lizards Dreamtime Story


A long time ago the frilled neck lizard had a nice clean chest but this was badly burnt which is why it is black today. Back in the Dreamtime when all the animals were people, there was an enormous flood and the river spread as wide as the eye could see. The people had been stranded on a small, higher part of land but there was no food and they were frightened because the flood-waters were still rising.




The clans gathered together and had a long discussion and decided that they had to cross the water to find better land that would provide food for them. The "clever men" instructed them to tie a smouldering fire stick to the chests of all animals before they commenced to swim so their progress could be seen.



The clever men sent snake-man first because they thought he was the smartest. For a long time they could see the fire getting smaller until it disappeared suddenly snake-man had drowned. The blue-tongued lizard was next and once again they could see the fire getting smaller until it disappeared he to had drowned. The clever men tried all the animals but all without success. All that was left was old Ga:ni, the frilled neck lizard. Ga:ni was very slow and slept most of the time. The clever men had to wake Ga:ni and tell him it was his turn to try and reach land. The clever-men instructed old Ga:ni to light a fire when he reached land to let them know it is safe to swim across.

Ga:ni told the clever-men to tie a long firestick to his chest a firestick made of gidgee because gidgee wood smoulders very slowly while the wind movement keeps it alight. The clever-men laughed at old Ga:ni this sleepy old fella but did as he requested. Ga:ni began his slow swim across the water and they could still see the twinkling light, although it was getting smaller.



Ga:ni's swim took all night and when the clever-men woke just before dawn, and looked out across the water, they saw to their surprise, a great fire blazing in the distance and knew that Ga:ni had found land. Their lives had been saved because old Ga:ni had been clever enough to survive the water crossing and the light the signal fire. During the long swim, the gidgee firestick had slowly burnt away until it had badly injured Ga:ni's chest. This left a charred, black scar on the chest of this brave frilled-neck lizard.



The clever-men promised that whoever found land should become the most superior person in their tribe and Ga:ni had saved their lives by showing them land with what remained of his firestick so all the animals swam over and joined him. They decided to have a corroborree in his honour and all painted up and danced around this tired, sleepy old fella. Ga:ni was now the king of the lizards and would remain so forever. Since his epic swim, he has always been treated with respect by both animals and humans.



Even today, frilled-neck lizards are often seen standing up straight on their hind legs their heads held back with pride and this displays the blackness on their chests that was the reward for great bravery in the past.


Michael J Connolly
Munda-gutta Kulliwari
Dreamtime Kullilla-Art