Creature record / 1872

The Midgeon Lagoon Bunyip: the Waa-Wee of Narrandera, 1872

April 1872 · Midgeon Lagoon (Lake Midgeon), about 16 miles north of Narrandera, Riverina, New South Wales, Australia

16Thinly documented Cryptid Creature 19 sources

Early April 1872. Midgeon Lagoon, 16 miles north of Narrandera, in the Riverina of New South Wales. Something was swimming in the water. It was black. Jet-black and shining. Its coat was so long that the hair spread across the surface and floated loosely as the animal rose and fell. Its ears were well marked. Its eyes could not be seen at all. No tail showed. The witness told the local Wagga paper it was half as long again as an ordinary retriever dog. The watching lasted about half an hour. The Wiradjuri had a name for it. The waa-wee. And the paper said it had been seen many times in the lagoon before.

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Key facts

When	April 1872
Time of day	early morning, between 6 and 7 a.m.
Where	Midgeon Lagoon (Lake Midgeon), about 16 miles north of Narrandera, Riverina, New South Wales,Australia
Duration	about half an hour
Witnesses	3
Witness roles	civilians
Found	testimony only
Evidence	none confirmed
Investigations	none recorded
Status	undisputed

The creature

A swimming animal "half as long again as an ordinary retriever dog", with a very long, jet-black, shining coat whose hair spread about 5 inches across the water. The hair round its head was too long and glossy to show its eyes, the ears were well marked, and no tail was visible. It rose and fell in the water.

Size	about 1.5 m (half as long again as an ordinary retriever dog)
Colour	black
Duration	30 minutes

The Brungle Creek Bunyip Carcass (1883) (related)

Context

The Riverina is Wiradjuri country. Among the Wiradjuri of the area the waa-wee, also written Waawii, is still talked about. They use "bunyip" as another word for it, and picture an animal the size of a calf.

Sources (19, most influential first)

The Bunyip (Edited Entry A262289) · h2g2 · Wiki, blog, podcast · wiki
Bulchin · Monstropedia · Wiki, blog, podcast · wiki
Bunyip · occult-world.com · Wiki, blog, podcast · blog
bunyip · Encyclopaedia Britannica · Press, book, documentary · other
Bunyips and Bigfoots, 2nd ed. · dokumen.pub (Malcolm Smith) · Press, book, documentary · book