The mythical creature known as ‘the bunyip’, which has simultaneously tantalised and terrorised Australians since The Dreaming is calling South Australia home through Country Arts SA’s Touring Exhibitions Program.

This traveling exhibition largely drawn from the extensive collections of the National Library will tour the state under the management of the Western Australian Museum’s Museum Link program.

Curated by Robert Holden, researcher of Australian folklore and children’s literature, the Bunyips exhibition features 22 large, colourful panels, enabling children and adults alike to discover the history, folklore, art and literature inspired by Australia’s famous bunyip.

You don’t have to wait until Bunyips comes to your town to see it.  An exciting, animated, interactive exhibition can be found online at the National Library’s website at www.nla.gov.au/exhibitions/bunyips    

‘Bunyips explores the remarkable story of the translation of a creature from the Dreaming into popular culture today,’ said National Library of Australia Director General, Jan Fullerton.  ‘It offers the public a chance to rediscover a creature that has enthralled us for so long.’

The bunyip originated in Aboriginal lore prior to European settlement of Australia and has become one of the few Dreaming stories to cross cultures.  Early colonial settlers, struggling to come to terms with the unique wildlife in this country, were prepared to believe stories of a semi-aquatic animal with big tusks who ate women and children, had a booming cry and the ability to mesmerise its prey.

Attitudes to the bunyip in Australian culture have evolved since early settlement. There have been reported sightings, rewards offered for its capture and serious scientific debate about its existence. Bunyips have also made appearances in a variety of plays, musicals and in children’s literature.

The exhibition is organised by the National Library of Australia with support from Visions of Australia. It will travel to regional and remote venues in Western Australia from 2004 onwards through the Western Australian Museum’s Museum Link program.  

The development and tour of this exhibition was made possible by the Federal Government’s touring exhibitions grant program, Visions of Australia.   Visions of Australia aims to provide all Australians, wherever they live, with better access to the nation’s cultural heritage; historic and visual arts material; and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture.

Information for Teachers click [here]

Regional Tour

2007• RENMARK, Chaffey Theatre Foyer Gallery May 7 – June 30 • STREAKY BAY Information & Rural Transaction Centre July 26 – September 13 • BURRA Regional Art GallerySeptember 21 – October 24 • Maitland, Bob Landt’s Corner Gallery November 1 – November 30 • PETERBOROUGH Regional Art Centre December 14 – February 3 / 2008

2008 • PORT LINCOLN Civic Hall Galleries February 28 – March 26 • PORT AUGUSTA, Fountain Gallery April 3 - April 29 • PINNAROO Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital May 9 – June 8

Image 1: The Story of the Bunyip, Reproduced from Australasian Sketcher (Supplement), July 1882, National Library of Australia
Image 2: Bunyip Boot Polish (detail), Reproduced from The Australian Official Journal of Trademarks, vol. 5, no. 30 Melbourne: Government Printer, 1910, National Library of Australia