Psychic Australian June 1977
Fantastic Gorilla-Giants of Katoomba
By Rex Gilroy
Gorilla Men
The sensational facts about a large number of sightings right near Sydney of fantastic gorilla-men eight feet tall have not been pursued by the popular press. Eyewitness accounts from 1974, 1975 and 1976 document this hitherto ignored creature, which was seen frequently by settlers in the region in the 1820's and also was known and spoken about by the aboriginals!
Rex Gilroy, Director of the Mount York Natural History Museum, Mt Victoria, NSW again relates incidents and evidence discovered in his wide-ranging researches. He has just returned from his April expedition into northern NSW and southern QLD where he accumulated new and amazing evidence which will appear in further articles of Psychic Australian!
Yowies {Great Hairy Man}
Since my article "Apemen in Australia" (Psychic Australian, August 1976) I have unearthed many new surprising facts concerning the enormous hairy manlike, apelike Yowie, or "great hairy man" of early Aboriginal folklore. I have found accounts of Yowie sightings and also many actual contacts dating back to the earliest years of European colonisation. reports of the mystery beasts come from every state of Australia, although it is to the eastern half of the continent that the creatures appear most prevalent, regions such as far west Queensland, Cape York, the mountainous forest regions of the east coast as well as the Lamington Plateau, Barrington Tops, Blue Mountains and the Great Dividing Range.
Blue Mountains {Great Hairy Men}
In fact it is from the Blue Mountains that these "classical" sighting-reports of Yowies first originated in the early years following European settlement in that district. The early settlers learnt of many mysterious creatures from the Aborigines with whom they came in contact with but none created as much fear as the Yowie, or "Great Hairy Man". It was described as an enormous manlike beast covered from head to foot in long hair. it had no neck, the head being sunk into the shoulders. The Yowie walked upon two legs with a stooped loping gait, emitting a grunting noise and also a screeching sound if disturbed.
The Yowies Diet
The Yowie's diet, according to the Aborigines, was mainly vegetable matter, certain plants, roots, berries, leaves and barks. However, the Yowie were also known to be carnivorous. These observation made by the Aborigines over a vast period of time covering perhaps thousands of years, are comparable with those reported by numerous European eyewitnesses.
Yowie The First?
In fact Australian settlers were seeing Yowies almost one hundred years before Europeans had ever heard of the Himalayan "Abominable Snowman". And yet despite these facts, the Australian public, apart from experienced bushmen of the outback regions, have never heard of the Yowie. Aside from the few legends of the Yowie recorded in Aboriginal literature the Australian press had never heard of the creature.
What I Was Up Against
That is until I published my first article about the Yowie enigma some years ago, thus becoming the first researcher ever to bring the existence of the Yowie to public attention throughout Australia. In quest of the Yowie I have devoted the past 18 years to recording sightings and other facts about the creatures throughout Australia. Naturally my investigations from the beginning bought trouble from various university circles where my disclosures conflicted with long established scientific dogmas, one such dogma being the famous "Wallace Line".
The Wallace Line
The "Wallace Line" drawn in the 1800's by Alfred Wallace, and beyond which no animal species of mainland Asia was supposed to penetrate, has ever since created the illusion that Australia was primarily a land inhabited by marsupials which excluded members of the primate family and other Asian animals. It therefore becomes an awkward problem for zoologists to explain away sightings of animals which tend to dispute accepted teachings, preferring instead to ignore the matter entirely with the idea that the "animal is not supposed to exist here, therefore it does not".
The Land Bridge
According to geologists our continent was once connected to mainland Asia by a land-bridge until the closing stages of the last great ice age; it was over this bridge that the Aborigines are supposed to have entered Australia and if so, what physical barrier could possibly have existed to have prevented other earlier races of man, entering, or even sub-man, from entering this continent. The scientists are in error. It is becoming quite obvious that a species of Asian panther inhabits a wide area of our continent. Tree sloths have been discovered in the gulf country. According to tradition such creatures are "not allowed" to exist here!
Science And Myths
Scientists will argue that if the Yowie exists, why have archaeologists failed to unearth actual skeletal remains of the beast? My answer is that as the scientists regard the creature as a myth, naturally they have never looked for it. Such matters did not trouble our early pioneers however-to them the Yowie was a real life creature, first reportedly seen by settlers near Sydney Cove in 1795.
Early Settler Sightings {Blue Mountains}
Shortly after Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson made their crossing of the Blue Mountains (1813) it did not take the settlers long to establish themselves across the range. By the early 1820's settlers who had won the confidence of the Aborigines began to learn among other things of the Yowie. Vague records of sightings by settlers of the creatures occurred around 1825 from the area where the present Wentworth Falls, Katoomba and Blackheath now stand. However, it was from the period 1860-1890 that accounts of the Blue Mountains Yowies reached their peak. By the 1870's coal and shale miners had entered the rugged Jamieson Valley, cutting a railway line from the base of Katoomba Falls four miles out to the ruined Castle rock formation where a settlement was established for the purpose of mining the extensive shale deposits there.
Miners
It did not take long for the miners to be acquainted with the "Great Hairy Man". During 1875 a miner, Mr. J. H Campbell, was exploring scrubland on the western slope of the Ruined Castle far below the tunneling operation when he sighted what he later described as a hairy six-foot tall manlike, ape-like animal moving through scrub about 100 yards ahead of him and seemingly oblivious to his presence. Mr. Campbell, picking up a strong piece of tree limb for protection, stalked the hairy beast for half a mile before the strange creature eluded him.
Devils Hole
About 1895 one of the last of the Aborigines of the Blue Mountains, who were an offshoot of the old Mulgoa and Burragorang tribes, declared there was a Yowie living in the neighbourhood of the "Devils Hole" near Narrow Neck, Katoomba. He even volunteered to take a European acquaintance to the exact place and there to leave him to interview the creature at leisure, but the offer was declined. Devils Hole leads into the Megalong Valley where settlers knew the mysterious screeching sound made by the Yowie, and for which the Aborigines had a word-"Gubba". Gubba was known throughout the Jenolan, Kanangra and Kowmung regions and was so terrifying a sound that all held it in great dread.
Jamieson And Megalong Valleys
Stories of the Yowie in and around the Jamieson and Megalong valleys persist to the present day.Forty years ago Mr. Albert James Underhill, an experienced bushman and drover was camped in the vicinity of the Ruined Castle. As he sat by his campfire prior to sleeping a large dark shape emerged from the nearby bush. All that Mr. Underhill could see in the dim light was what appeared to be a tall manlike shape at least seven feet in height. The figure made a loud grunting noise and merged back into the darkness. Mr. Underhill was no stranger to the Yowie. In 1905 he had camped in the Wee Jasper mountains with other witnesses while droving cattle when a tall hairy apelike beast approached his camp, but retreated when the startled cattlemen picked up logs of wood to defend themselves. Perhaps this previous experience was in Mr. Underhills mind as he reached his rifle, but the last he heard of the mystery creature were the sounds of breaking foliage as it retreated up the scrub-covered slope of the Ruined Castle.
Ruined Castle
The Ruined Castle has been the scene of numerous occurences involving the Yowie since the 1870's. Now one hundred years later the creatures continue to make their appearances. I have already written of my own first experience with the Yowie (Psychic Australian, august 1976) when on 7 August 1970 I was returning home from a hike over near Mt Solitary. Reaching the base of Ruined Castle I stopped to rest on a rock for a few minutes. As I sat there eating sandwiches, overlooking a sunlit forest glade below I was suddenly surprised by an apelike creature covered in brownish hair moving swiftly on two legs through the undergrowth to disappear within a few seconds in the surrounding rainforest. Moments before the beast had appeared I had looked at my watch, the time was 3.30 pm.
No sooner had the strange beasts disappeared into the rainforest that I heard a loud screeching sound, then all was silent. Dropping the packet of sandwiches I had been eating at the time of the creatures appearance, I left the rock and moved to a tall fern I had seen the creature brush past. Judging by the height of the fern I deduced the height of the hairy beast to be about 4ft to 5ft. Later I was to learn that not long after my own experience Mr. Geoff Hayton of Blaxland was hiking on the track to Ruined Castle when he met a group of people hastily moving in the opposite direction. They told him they had heard a loud grunting noise coming from the forest near the base of Ruined Castle not far ahead. Geoff Hayton proceeded on his way nonetheless. Further along he came upon a set of several vague large apelike footprints in the soil of the track.
During July 1976 a Mr. Jackson of Sydney went for a hike out to Ruined Castle. The weather turned dull and overcast as he neared his destination. As he turned a bank in the track he received a shock which has haunted him to this day. Moving from out of nearby scrub on to the track a few yards ahead of him was a tall hair covered manlike "thing". Frozen with disbelief Mr. Jackson stood there as the beast stared back at him. The creature a male, just stood there facing me. I could see his facial features clearly, almost human-like there was a look of inquisitiveness in his facial expression. Then suddenly leaping off the track the beast disappeared down the embankment and into the trees. Recovering my senses I turned back and with shaking legs I left the area as soon as I could, still not certain of what I had seen.
Mount Solitaire
Mr. Jacksons experience is not the only one of its kind in my files. The same facial features have been described by other eyewitnesses over a wide area of Australia. Further south of the Ruined Castle stands imposing Mount Solitaire.
It was here on 18th September 1976 that another experience befell two 18 year old Springwood boys, Ian Mack and Donald Huston, which seems to have dampened the enthusiasm of a number of other hikers to camp since, on the mountain overnight. Ian and Donald reached the southern end of the mountain on the afternoon of 18th September and proceeded to pitch their tent and prepare a campfire. The boys bedded down and all seemed well. That is until 11.15 pm when they were disturbed by strange noises coming from the surrounding scrub. They were scared literally out of their wits by the sudden appearance of four hairy man-like beasts. The boys, unarmed, grabbed spare tent poles with which to defend themselves. However the creatures who appeared to stand about 5ft tall, turned and scattered as the boys got to their feet. The boys spent an uneasy night fearing the return of the mysterious beasts. At first light they abandoned their camp and left the mountain for home.
Three Sisters {Katoomba}
A similar camping experience happened on the other side of the Jamieson Valley near the base of the Three Sisters during 1975. A man and his two sons were camped in scrub below the Federal Pass track. Late at night the group were awakened by loud grunting noises and the sound of breaking twigs. Getting out of their tent they found themselves looking towards a hairy ape-like beast about the height of a man. The beasts thereupon turned and disappeared hastily into the scrub.
Megalong Valley
Adjoining the Jamieson Valley at the southern end of Narrow Neck peninsula is the Megalong Valley. It was here in 1963 that a Mr. Babage of nearby Blackheath was driving his car out of the Megalong Valley pass when in broad daylight a tall hairy manlike creature lept out from behind roadside bushes in front of his vehicle. The beast then continued across the road and down an embankment. A very shaken Mr Babage drove hastily out of the valley, however his disclosures of the experience to friends met with ridicule.
Yowie Predators?
I have said the Yowie is carnivorous as well as vegetarian. About May 1974 a pony was found dead in thick bushland north of Katoomba, its neck had been broken, the head almost having been torn off, and portions of its back had been torn off and eaten. Nearby were the ominous footprints of what must have been an enormous apelike creature. News of the gruesome find revived the memories of Blackheath residents who recalled a similar occurrence some months before on a Mount Victoria farm where a sheep had been killed in much the same fashion. nearby were found large apelike footprints. Further investigation by me later revealed a list of similar instances occuring throughout the Megalong Valley-Blackheath districts stretching back to 1953!
The same year a long time resident of Blackheath, Mr. Robert Austin, then a 16 year old boy, was hiking through the Grose Valley, east of Blackheath. He had passed through the Blue Gum Forest and was heading in the direction of Pikes Flat where from above a 30ft cliff face, he spotted a hairy, seemingly manlike creature perhaps 6ft in height observing him from above. No sooner had he sighted the strange creature than it emitted a screeching sound and picked up a large rock to hurl it with both hands down upon young Robert. Ducking a couple more large rocks he turned and and ran back the way he had come. Later he would relate his story to disbelieving friends. After much ridicule he ceased talking about his experience for the next 20 years. His story might have gone un-noticed had not his sister, hearing of my research approached me with the details.
Grose Valley {Blackheath District}
It now appears the early settlers of the Blackheath district knew about Yowies inhabiting the Grose Valley as early as the middle of the 1800's.
On 13th April 1976 Mr. Gary Wilson, his brother Lance, together with their mates Ron Sparks, Robert Simpson, John Maxfield and Andrew Webb, all of Blackheath, entered the Grose Valley at Perry's Lookdown and proceeding through the Blue Gum Forest planned to hike to Pikers Flat. A mile and a half past the junction of Blackheath Creek and the Grose River they were suddenly startled by a loud crashing sound coming from the nearby forest. They all turned to see only yards away a human-like creature a good 8ft tall. Later in the course of an interview with me Gary Wilson estimated the creature's shoulders were at least 4ft across, pendulous breasts told the boys it was a female.
The beast stood in a stooped position and appeared more inquisitive than dangerous. The boy's description of the face attracted my special attention. All agreed the facial features of the beast were almost human-like. Unfortunately the boys did not stand there long enough to make amore detailed description and fled back along the track, stopping only at the Blue Gum Forest before climbing the steep track of Perry's lookout. An interesting feature about the enormous beast, and this was noticed by all the boys, was the foul odour that emanated from her, a feature in fact which has been observed with a number of other Yowie contact accounts over a wide area of Australia, and a feature common to both its Himalayan "abominable snowman" and America "Bigfoot".
Perry's Lookdown
To reach Perry's Lookdown you have to drive through the old Blackheath airstrip. It was here that Blackheath resident MR. Andrew Kerry sighted what he believes to have been a Yowie one dull cloudy day in 1969. Andrew was seated in his stationary car at the far end of the strip. As he looked ahead of him along the dirt road he sighted a creature which he believes could have been at least 4ft tall lope across the road at a distance of about 200 yards from him. The creature ha says was covered in long hair, appeared stooped in posture, its arms dangling down to its knees.
Mount York
On 29 December last year, the weather was fine and warm on the morning when young Ken Lindsay of Mouth Victoria, together with his friend Jim Merrick, and several mates went trailbike riding on a track situated two miles from Mount York road and about a mile south of Mount York reserve where I have my natural history museum. The time was 11.30 am when ken Lindsay and Jim Merrick rode their bikes ahead of their group of the track which overlooks a deep tree and scrub covered gully. It was at that moment that Ken Lindsay spotted a manlike hairy figure below them standing upon the trunk of a fallen gum tree some distance from the track. The beast they later agreed was covered completely with long brownish hair. It stood at least 5-6ft tall. No sooner had the boys spotted it than the beast leapt from the tree trunk and escaped into the gully below.
By this time the rest of the party had arrived on the scene. Upon hearing from Ken and Lindsay about the creature he and his companion had just seen, all sped quickly out of the track and onto Mount York road. After telling their parents what they had seen in the gully below Mount York road, Jim's father Pat Merrick piled the boys into his car and drove them out to explain their experience to me at my museum. The result was I returned to the scene with Ken Lindsay, tape measure and camera in hand to make a thorough inspection of the site. The exact spot on the fallen gum tree from whence Ken had seen the apparent Yowie standing was a good 130ft from the road. The gully into which the Yowie escaped leads down into the back of the Hartley Valley, an area in fact from which accounts of Yowies emanated in the latter part of the 1800's.
My Fathers Incident
Mount Victoria residents during the 1890's and earlier were aware of the Yowie which was said to have lived out of the Victoria Falls road three miles east of the township off the Great Western Highway. The Ken Lindsay incident has parallels with occurences which took place at Mount York reserve in the vicinity of the of convict-built Cox's road. On the night of 3 February 1973 my father MR. W.F. Gilroy, happened to be working late. The time was 11pm when he was startled by a weird noise, a screeching which came from the direction of the road behind my museum. The sound changed to a kind of wail. It stopped after a few seconds. The following evening as my fathers was working at 10pm, the sound, along wailing noise, returned this time lasting for several minutes. This prompted my father to investigate the source of the sound.
Picking up his torch he proceeded for some distance down Cox's road but he failed to locate its origin. Again the next evening as my father continued his work, the weird sound returned for the third time at midnight lasting for 8 minutes. Once again my father failed to find the animal responsible for the sounds, except that he was now sure they came from out of the gully below the road on its southern side. This gully leads down into the same valley as the gully into which the Yowie of Ken Lindsay escaped on 29 December 1976. Although it could be disputed that the sounds heard by my father could easily have been made by some other creature (The Tasmanian Wolf has been suggested), the sounds nevertheless are not unlike similar sounds known to have been made by the Yowie elsewhere and which, if we are to accept the findings of overseas researchers, are also made by the "abominable snowman" and "bigfoot".
Missing Link
These are by no means all of the accounts of Yowie activity on the Blue Mountains preserved in my files. However I do think they are a good cross-section of cases providing evidence for the existence on this continent of a race of creatures so far unknown to science but which are nonetheless a "missing link" with man's ancient past. I feel the time has come for us to examine the origin of man with fresh eyes. There have been too many preconceived ideas masquerading the facts.
Psychic Australian July 1977
Mysterious Egyptian Find In NSW Mountains
By Rex Gilroy
Mysterious Egyptian Find In NSW Mountains
