Australian Legendary Tales

The first publication of Australian Aboriginal myths and legends as collected in the field by Katie Langloh Parker in the 1890s, and first published in 1896. This is also the first publication by an Aboriginal artist, at the time not identified, but from the records it is Tommy McCrae, whose drawings form part of the national collection. Langloh Parker dedicates the collection of stories to Peter Hippi, 'probably the last King of the Noongahburrahs', a friend and employee of her family. She moved to Bangate Station in NSW in 1879 and had a particular interest in the Aboriginal people. She gained their trust through her respect for their culture and traditions and began to record the stories of the Euahlayi [Ualarai] people of the Narran River region. As so many aspects of Aboriginal culture were threatened by European colonisation, her accounts are considered to be valuable evidence of the beliefs and myths of the Aboriginal people of North-West New South Wales at that time.