Australia: The Land Where Time Began |
||||||||||||||
Arkaroola, SA (the place of Arkaroo) Mountain scenery at Arkaroola, northern
Flinders Ranges
Sillars Lookout (left), Arkaroola, northern Flinders Ranges Arkaroo was a great serpent from the
Dreamtime who lived in the
Gammon Ranges south of Arkaroola. According to the
stories about him among the
Adnyamathanha people, he felt very thirsty so slithered down to
the plains and drank
Lake Frome and
Lake Callabonna dry. When
he finished drinking he went back to the Gammon Ranges, his long body
gouging out the bed of Arkaroola Creek and a number of waterholes
at places he rested along the way as he moved. The large volume of salty
water he drank gave him a terrible bellyache. The Aboriginal People believed
that was the cause of the rumblings coming from beneath the ground in
the Gammon Ranges, where he has slept in Yacki Waterhole since
that time, every time he moves around in his restless sleep the water in
his belly sloshing around rumbles. The water emerging from this spring
is just below boiling point. An alternative explanation is that the sounds
result from minor tremors along fault lines produced by earth movements
associated with readjustment of the crust after uplift of the area. Paralana Hot Springs is one of the most
important of the waterholes left by Arkaroo. The local Aboriginal People used
it for cooking and bathing, especially as is was said to cure minor
aches and pains. According to the dreamtime story it wasn't originally
hot but in the Dreamtime 2 young men fought over a girl, the winner
plunging the firestick he used to vanquish his rival into the spring
where it heated the water, remaining hot to this day. Arkaroola is a small settlement located in the
Northern Flinders Ranges adjacent to the Gammon Ranges. It is over 600
km north of Adelaide. The privately-owned Arkaroola Sanctuary was first
established by Reg and Griselda Sprigg. In 1968, the Arkaroola property was purchased by
Reg and Griselda Sprigg. Reg Sprigg saw a unique opportunity to retain
its unspoilt character as a privately owned sanctuary. The continuing
eradication of stock and pests has brought improvements in the
population of
euros, wallabies,
kangaroos and emu.
Helen Grasswill & Reg Morrison, Australia, a
Timeless Grandeur, Lansdowne, 1981
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
Author: M.H.Monroe Email: admin@austhrutime.com Sources & Further reading |