The serpent’s journey

“According to many Brisbane Aboriginal families, the Brisbane River was once much narrower. It gained its current shape when the Dreaming Rainbow Serpent (also known as Carpet Snake, Eel, or Bunyip) slithered down from the Great Divide and along the Brisbane valley to lay its eggs, gouging out the current course. In some versions of the story, the Snake is chased by Goanna. The gigantic snake track became the river, with water tumbling on after the Dreaming-Ancestor. The walls of the giant snake track are the cliffs along Kangaroo Point, Petrie’s Bight, and elsewhere. Eventually, the Dreaming Serpent reached Moreton Bay, where its eggs became the people and the animals.”

Ray Kerkhove (2020) Mouth of the Brisbane River: Aboriginal History

Image: Aerial of the Brisbane River. Google Maps.