Australian Cryptozoology Gary Opit

04/09/2026

Kyogle Councillor Brett McNamara posted this wonderful old local newspaper article describing encounters with Jurrawarra, the Bundjalung Yowie taking place in what is now the Toonumbar National Park 136 years ago and then again 104 years ago with the exact same descriptions of the animals and its behaviour being reported today. ‘Red Gold and Yowies’.
Mr Martin McNamara, of Iron Pot Creek near Kyogle, sent us these pictures and a few details about Iron Pot Falls. His grandsons, Shane and Craig McNamara, are pictured at the falls, which are about 15 kilometres above the top of Toonumbar Dam. In the second picture Shane and Craig are with a huge red cedar log which might have been felled last century and left because it was too difficult to move. … The log pictured is near the top of the falls and close to the spot where, in 1922, Mr McNamara’s uncle, William Layton, had a close encounter with a mysterious ‘thing’ while camping.
Mr Layton and his companion heard what sounded like a two-legged creature the size of a bullock moving around their campfire. At the same time their dog fled, terrified, into their tent and refused to emerge. Mr McNamara writes that his uncle had arrived in the district in 1890 and cedar-cutters were working in the Murray Scrub at the head of Iron Pot Creek. One of the cedar-cutters told him he had encountered a huge, ape-like creature, which had stared at him before disappearing into the scrub.
“It’s interesting to note,” says Mr McNamara, "that Woodenbong, which is ‘Yowie country’, is only about 14 kilometres in a direct line from Iron Pot Falls.”

02/09/2026

Listen to the stories recorded and played on our ABC North Coast NSW radio station 94.5FM. We had between 400 and 500 people attend our free Woodenbong Yowie Gathering, double the number that attended my first free Yowie town event at Lismore on 24 January 2026. I was the only presenter at the first event and imitated the Yowie vocalisations that I have heard over the decades over the microphones between the folk bands. Jaynee and Fiona screened their short films as they did at this gathering. Additional speakers this time were Stephen and Evan Strong and Stets and Josie Strohfeld and I gave the welcoming presentation. The huge crowds meant that the planned showing of people's actual videos and photographs of Yowies and their footprints and stick structures failed to eventuate as the gathering moved outside to accommodate everyone after my initial presentation in the hall, which was packed with people viewing the displays and showing us their photos and telling their stories.

01/09/2026

After almost 30 years of my weekly, live-to-air, wildlife identification broadcasts for ABC North Coast NSW radio 94.5 FM receiving dozens of reports of an unclassifiable huge bipedal and quadrupedal gorilla-like animal, known to the Bundjalung people for thousands of years as Jurrawarra and to the general public as the Yowie, I was able to organise with Woodenbong resident Jaynee and Urbanville residents Lyall and Kristine the Yowie Gathering on Saturday 29 August 2026. Hundreds of people attended including some of our most experienced researchers and many people shared with me remarkable photos of Yowies, their footprints and stick structures on their phones. The illustration comes from the front cover of Tony Healy and Paul Cropper’s book The Yowie, In Search of Australia’s Bigfoot and features the North Queensland Yowie, “Turramulli the giant Quinkin” first published in the book of that name written by Percy Trezise and illustrated by Dick Roughsey. The three-toed and three-fingered Yowie is known from its distinctive large footprints down the east coast and the results of observations over 20 years in the Blue Mountains by Neil and Sandy Frost and other members of their group provided evidence that this species of Yowie may be a marsupial, perhaps a descendent of one of the species of giant short-faced kangaroos.

Hundreds of people descended on Woodenbong 🌄 the unofficial 'Big Foot' capital of Australia for the inaugural Yowie Gathering.

Click 🖱the link in comments to find out what brought people to the gathering and hear tales of the elusive Yowie.

Image: Tony Healy

31/08/2026

I photographed the NPWS sign at Tooloom Falls that gives information on the Githabul People and metioned in my talk that the name Woodenbong is derived from a Githabul word meaning 'wood ducks on a lagoon'. Muli Muli Community is situated midway between the two towns of Woodenbong and Urbenville and these original inhabitants have inhabited the region for many thousands of years. They were the first indigenous community in New South Wales to prove that they still openly practiced their tribal laws and ancient culture when the Githabul Native Title was enacted. They were granted native title rights over national parks with the signing of the Githabul Treaty at the Woodenbong Common in November 2007. Fortunate indeed are we to have the opportunity to appreciate the oldest culture on Earth and to understand their wonderful understanding of reality that aligns so closely with the latest discoveries of science, particularly quantum mechanics.

31/08/2026

I was the first presenter at the inaugural Yowie Gathering at Woodenbong welcoming the attendees to the land of the Githabul and Bundjalung people. Paying our respects to the Custodians of the old ways, today’s leaders and the knowledge holders of tomorrow. Thank you for having us on Country. Bundjalung people know the Yowie as Jurrawarra. Across the border in southeast Queensland the Yugambeh people know the Yowie as Bunyun. All other indigenous Australian people have their own names for these very sacred protectors of the forests, most ancient of the elders and profound luminaries whose presence dissolves all delusions. Jurrawarra, the Yowie had gathered us all together to awaken us to the wonders of the Dreaming, the reality behind everyone's lives. The fact that we are all a part of Country. That we are a community, that includes equally every one of us, including the plants and animals that together recycle the matter and energy that makes our life possible. That we are not separate from Country. That Country is not here for us to pillage and exterminate for our own personal power and prestige. Country is not land. It is not terrain. It is not “environment.” Country is a living, conscious field of interwoven vibrations, the totality of relationships that make reality coherent. Jurrawarra, the Yowie, is the embodied resonance of Country itself.

31/08/2026

We all had a wonderful day at the Yowie Gathering at Woodenbong on Saturday 29 August 2026. Thank you to all of the people that made the effort to attend this inaugural event at the Yowie capital of Australia. The hall was filled to capacity an hour before we had intended to begin with hundreds seated and standing and hundreds more arriving. The three presenters had only just set up our displays when Jaynee began the proceedings welcoming the attendees and then I gave the introductory presentation. It was decided that we needed to continue the presentations outside in the sunshine, so that everybody could enjoy the speakers and so everyone picked up their chairs and gathered outside the hall to listen to Stephen and Evan Strong, followed by Stets and Josie Strohfeld. Jaynee and Fiona Fraser screened their short films, and the Yowie Market provided a huge array of locally made arts, craft and produce and the town hall kitchen fed the crowds.

24/08/2026

The real world lies beyond the cities, worsening metal health, bullying, depression, addiction, crime, madness, and the traffic. The real world is magical. Park rangers in the Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo, with gorillas that were raised by people as orphans leant to stand upright and one day, while patrolling, the rangers took a selfie and the gorillas stepped into the frame.

24/08/2026

From the Yowie Gathering Woodenbong Facebook site. A Yowie is called by other names in other cultures worldwide and has a particular significance in Australian Indigenous dream time stories. If you have a genuine interest in Yowies this event is not to be missed.
Although people see Yowies as a fun topic and subject of many pop art and craft creations there is a serious side that many people remain unaware of.

They are not to be feared but rather revered and protected as they may have existed long before human contact and written accounts would have us believe. A fascinating insight into their shy presence in Australia is encapsulated in the gathering on 29th August 2026 at Woodenbong Town Hall Yowie Country Market starting at 11 am.
This is a gathering inspired by a Lismore event that we were all invited to. The displays and films shown at Lismore Gallery that day were complimentary to the guest speaker Gary Opit's talk about his close encounters with Yowies.
We decided to bring the event to Woodenbong close to where Yowies have been sighted and create a gathering where the audience gets a first-hand peek into this mystical phenomenon.
Audience members are encouraged to sign up for any future events planned at Woodenbong one of the homes of the Yowie and part of local aboriginal Gidabal tribal culture. We hope this initial gathering hosted by speakers, volunteers and two female film makers will gather momentum for future events up here. This is not a ticketed event but there will be a gold coin donation at the door to the kitchen.

24/08/2026

Woodenbong Yowie Gathering 29 August. To understand the cultural impact of the Yowie, we have to look at its function as a profound enigma. Its inability to be definitively identified is actually its strength. It commands attention precisely because it exists between the possible and impossible. From a social perspective, this mystery functions as a powerful tool for community cohesion. It prompts collective inquiry, driving dialogue and cooperation among people who are unified by the same shared question. What is it?
The Yowie bridges cultural gaps, prompting collective analysis. It functions as a unifying socio-cultural focal point. The narrative cultivates a shared sense of curiosity. It encourages collaborative efforts to decipher its existence. The Yowie serves to unite diverse community members. This enigmatic figure fosters meaningful human connection. It acts as a catalyst for community engagement. The legend inspires shared dialogue and collaboration. It creates a common ground for collective discussion. Yowies Rule! This illustration created by Daniel Antal.