17/05/2026
Near the waters of Whittakers Creek, not far from Bodalla, the old people tell a story carried through Yuin Country for generations.
Long ago, a large group of Jeringa people travelled south along the coast toward a great gathering near Bega. Families moved together across Country, camping beside creeks and beaches as they journeyed. Among them were two young women promised under traditional lore, watched over carefully by family and community.
One evening, while the camp rested near Kianga, two young Monaro warriors arrived quietly from the mountains. Under the cover of darkness, they took the two young women and fled south through the bush.
But the women were not alone.
A loyal dog belonging to the young women followed close behind, refusing to leave them as they crossed creeks, forests and ridges beneath the moonlight.
At dawn, the Jeringa hunters returned to camp and discovered the women were gone. The camp fell silent. The old men understood immediately what had happened. Under lore, the taking of the women was a serious breach of lore and balance between groups.
The hunters gathered their spears and began tracking them across Country.
They followed footprints through the sand, broken branches in the scrub and the distant calls of birds disturbed in the bush. Eventually the trail led them to Whittakers Creek.
There, beside the water, the two groups met.
The Monaro warriors were speared for breaking lore. The women and their faithful dog, caught between love, loyalty and lore, were turned to stone.
The old people say the rocks still remain there today beside the creek, watching silently over the Country as they have for countless generations.
For Yuin people, the story is more than legend.
It is a story about loyalty, kinship and responsibility.
And it is a reminder that Country remembers everything.
Source : Eurobodalla Aboriginal Heritage Study “Stories About the Eurobodalla by Aboriginal People”